Deeper experiences of famous Christians

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flatbatti Sibinitp iMbool

ANDOVER-HARVARD THEOLOGICAL

LIBRARY

MDCCCCX

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

GIFT FROM THE

HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL
BULLETIN

CluU«Jtcvi h-.S'o

Deeper Experiences

OF

FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

Gleaned from
Their Biographies, Autobiographies and Writings

BY

J. GILCHRIST LAWSON. EVANGELIST

OLD

NEW
OTHER

Savonarola
Madam Guyon
Fenelon
George Fox
John Biinyan
John Wesley
Whitefield

TESTAMENT CHARACTERS
TESTAMENT CHARACTERS
EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

Fletcher
Christmas Evans
Lorenzo Dow
Cartwright
Finney
Billy Bray
Jacob Knapp

George MuUer
A. B. Earle
Miss Havergal
A J. Gordon
D. L. Moody
General Booth
and Others

THE WARNER PRESS
Anderson, Indiana

Theou i-AL library

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

International Copyright^ 1911

BY
JAMES GILCHRIST LAWSON

67-, 3

d. U: ^i-i^

( ii^>JL.i V ' '■ \ ' \

CONTENTS

PAGE.

Introduction 7

Old Testament Characters 1$

New Testament Characters 2^

Other Early Saints and Sages 49

Girolamo Savonarola 73

Madam Guyon 87

Fenelon 107

George Fox 121

John Bunyan 137

John Wesley 155

^ G^rge Whitefield % . . 173

*^:j John Fletcher 187

^'^ Christmas Evans 203

^^^^^J^renzo Dow 215

^Peter Cartwright, 229

4^ Charles G. Finney 243

"^ Billy Bray 259

Elder Jacob Knapp 273

George MuUer » 285

p A. B. Earle .301

V Frances Ridley Havergal 313

"f A. J. Gordon 329

• ^ D. L. Moody,..*.. 339

^ General Booth 353

rY Other Famous Christians 369

INTRODUCTION

The great object of this book is to describe, in their
own words so far as possible, the deepest spiritual experi-
ences of the most famous Christians of all ages and climes.
The author has spent much of his time for years in the
greatest libraries of Europe and America, searching the
whole range of Christian literature to glean from it the
most spiritual and helpful Christian experiences. He be-
lieves that this book contains the very cream of the Chris-
tian literature of all ages, and trusts that it will be the
means of leading many into "the fulness of the blessing
of the gospel of Christ" (Romans 15:29).

Although these pages contain an account of the most
important facts in the lives of the most famous Spirit-
filled children of God, it would be impossible, in a book
of this kind, to describe the deeper experiences of all the
famous Spirit-filled Christians. In the early Christian
church, and in almost every denomination of Christians,
there have been many whose consecrated lives and spiritual
experiences have made them a blessing to multitudes. The
deeper experiences of famous living Christians would fill
another volume of this kind. Much more might be said
concerning the deeper Christian experiences of the saints
of the early Christian church than has been said in these
pages. Volumes might be written concerning the famous
and pious mystics of the middle ages, such as Erigena,
Abelard, St. Bernard, Hildegarde, Bonaventura, Tauler,
Eckhart, St. Brigitta, Catherine of Siena, Gerson, St. Ther-
esa, Amdt, St. Frances de Sales, Jacob Bohme, Gerhard,

vu

INTRODUCTION

Molinos, and hosts of others. The Beghards of the Neth-
erlands, the Alombrados, or lUuminati, of Spain, the Quiet-
ists and Pietists of Europe and Russia in Asia, and the
persecuted Jansenists and Port Royalists of France, had
many members eminent for their piety and spiritual power
whose experiences are omitted in this volume. Among the
most eminent of the Port Royalists were Amauld, Pascal,
Nicole, Tillemont, and Racine. In modem times, since the
Protestant Reformation, there have been hosts of famous
Spirit-filled Christians whose experiences could not well be
included in this book. Among these may be mentioned
Robert Barclay, Susannah Wesley, Charles Wesley, Hester
Ann Rogers, Elizabeth Fry, Howell Harris, Upham, Bishop
Francis Asbury, James Caughey, Mrs. Catherine Booth,
Kimball, Alfred Cookman, Inskip, Major Whittle, and many
others, including most of the great evangelists, mission-
aries, and h3rmn-writers. But, from the great multitude
available, the author has selected and described the expe-
riences of those who were spiritual stars of the first mag-
nitude, and who were pre-eminent for their piety and spir-
itual power.

Although the deeper spiritual experiences of Christians
of many different ages, climes, and denominations are given
in this book, it will be found that there is a wonderful
harmony in the experiences related. The persons described,
whether Bible characters or others, relate their deeper ex-
periences in very different terms ; but the deeper Christian
experience described is always the same. It is the baptism,
or filling, or gift, of the Holy Spirit, and the experience
resulting from being " filled with the Spirit." The Meth-
odist may describe this deeper Christian experience as '' en-
tire sanctification," "holiness," or "perfect love." The
Baptist may call it the "baptism of the Holy Spirit," or

tfie " filling of the Spirit." The Presbyterian may call it

...
viu

TNTRODVCTION

the " life of faith/' or the " rest of faith," or the '' full
assurance of faith." The G)ngregationalist may call it
*' entire consecration." The Quaker may call it *' living in
the Spirit," or " walking in the Spirit," or " over-coming
power." The old Roman Catholic and Greek Church writ-
ers may term it " death to the self-life," or " pure love."
All these are Scriptural terms, or ideas, and all refer to a
Spirit-filled Christian experience ; just as Hannah Whithall
Smith, in her " Christian Secret of a Happy Life," and
William Arthur, in his "Tongue of Fire," describe one
and the same experience, although one views the experi-
ence from the human side and the other from the Divine ;
one showing man's privilege and the other God's power.
Again, the Calvinist may describe his deeper Christian ex-
perience in terms which accord with his theological views,
while the Arminian uses terms which accord with his theo-
logical views ; just as a person looking at the Niagara Falls
from the Canadian side would describe them in very dif-
ferent terms from a person looking at them from the
American side, although the falls would remain the same.
Theories differ according to the different standpoints or
ways of looking at things. So long as men have different
degrees of light they are bound to differ in theory. " Now
we see through a glass, darkly," says the Apostle, " but then
shall I know even as also I am known" (i Cor. 13: 12).
That all men should agree in theory with regard to the
deeper things of God's Word is hardly to be expected when
they differ so much in theory with regard to the " first prin-
ciples," and so long as they hold different theories with
regard to politics and every other question. But as there
is a practical agreement among evangelical Christians with
regard to the way of salvation, so there is a practical agree-
ment among those who believe in a deeper Christian expe-
rience than conversion. All agree that Christians may be

ix

INTRODUCTION

^ filled with the Spirit " (Ephesians 5 : i8) ; ftat we may
** have life and have it more abundantly " (John lo : lo) ;
that we may be " rooted and grounded in love " (Ephesians
3:17); that we can be "more than conquerors, through
him that loved us" (Romans 8: 37) ; that if we bring all
the tithes into His storehouse, the Lord will open us the
windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing, that ther^
shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3: 10) ;
that we may have " peace as a river," and " righteousness
as the waves of the sea" (Isaiah 48:18); that we may
have "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (i Peter 1:8);
and so on. In a court of law the testimony of witnesses
would be rejected if they all gave the same evidence, and
gave it in the same words and manner. It would prove
that there had been collusion among the witnesses. But if
each witness gave his evidence in his own words and man-
ner, and yet the testimony of the witnesses agreed as to
the essential facts, the evidence would be regarded as of
the most convincing character. So when Christians of so
many different centuries and countries relate their deeper
Christian experiences in their own manner and language,
and yet all agree as to the essential facts, it is overwhelm-
ing evidence in favor of the fact that such a deep Christian
experience may really be attained.

There are several different theories with regard to the
work accomplished by the baptism, or filling, of the Holy
Spirit. Many hold the Wesleyan theory that when a per-
son is filled with the Spirit, "inbred," or "original," sin
is rooted out, or destroyed. Others believe that " inbred,"
or " original," sin remains in the person who is filled with
the Spirit ; but that it is kept under, or suppressed, by the
indwelling Holy Spirit. Others believe with Finney, the
great Spirit-filled theologiein and prince of evangelists, that
there is no such thing as. ** inbred sin," or " original sin,"

X

INTRODUCTION

but that all temptations come through the natural desires,
and that sin consists of following the desires of the flesh
instead of following the Spirit. They believe that the
Spirit-filled person has greater power than others to crucify,
or keep under, the natural desires, so as not to be led astray
By them.

There are also differences of theory with regard to
whether or not Spirit-filled Christians live in sin, and as
to whether or not they are perfect and holy. The differ-
ence of opinion as to whether or not a Christian can live
without sin is generally caused by the different views men
have of what sin is. It is only Christians who regard
faults, mistakes, temptations, lack of knowledge, and so on,
as sin, who believe that the Christian cannot live without
sin. Most people agree that God's children can and do
live without committing presumptuous sins. So there is far
more agreement with regard to the question of living with-
out sin than is generally supposed. In like manner, it is
the diflFerent views that people hold with regard to what
perfection is, and what holiness is, which cause them to
differ as to whether or not a Christian can be perfect or
holy ; although the corruption of their own hearts may often
lead them to oppose the doctrine of holiness or Christian
perfection, and in some cases to be more afraid of holiness
than of hell. Those who believe that God does not require
or expect divine or angelic perfection in human beings, but
that He only requires us to be perfect as human beings,
are of the opinion that we can be perfect, or holy, in this
life. They believe that all the moral law can or does re-
quire is that we should love God with all our heart, mind,
strength, and soul, and not with the strength or intelligence
of angels ; and they believe that if the Christian loves God
and his neighbor in that way, he is perfect, or holy, in the

sight of God. They think that as th^ teacher regards the

•

INTRODUCTION

little child in the first grade at school as perfect if it does
what is required of pupils in the first standard, so God
regards us as perfect if we do what could reasonably be
expected of us as human beings. On the other hand, many
people regard the moral law as a fixed standard requiring
in human beings all that is found in God and in angels.
It is no wonder that those who hold that view of the re-
quirements of the moral law are opposed to the doctrine
of holiness, or Christian perfection. No one could be holy
or perfect if the moral law required divine or angelic per-
fection in human beings. No reasonable person claims to
be without faults and temptations.

Again, there is a difference of opinion as to whether or
not the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within people when
they are converted, justified, or forgiven. Some believe
that the Holy Spirit dwells within every child of God, but
that He comes in greater measure to those who are " filled
with the Spirit." Others believe that to talk about getting
" more and more of the Spirit " is not only using unscrip-
tural language, but that it is treating the Holy Spirit as
an influence instead of as a person. They believe that the
Holy Spirit is only with the justified, forgiven, or regen-
erated person, but that He dwells within those who are
" filled with the Spirit." In proof of this they cite Christ's
promise, " He dwdleth with you, and shall be in you "
(John 14: 17), and such passages as Acts 8: 16, and 19: 2,
where believers are described as not having received the
Holy Ghost. However theories may differ, it is certain
that in the early Christian church it was customary to lay
hands on believers, and to pray for them that they might
receive " the gift of the Holy Ghost," although the gift of
the Spirit was sometimes given without the laying on of
hands. This early Christian custom is mentioned in He-
brews 6 : 2 as one of the ** first principles " of Christianity,

INTRODUCTION

and it is frequently referred to by the early Christiar.
writers. A relic of the custom has been handed down from
apostolic times in Greek and other Eastern churches, and
in the Roman Catholic Church in the West, in the ceremony
known as Confirmation, which is also observed in the
Church of England, the Lutheran, and some other Protes-
tant churches. Although the rite of Confirmation may now
be a mere form in the majority of cases, it is unquestion-
ably a relic of the early Christian custom of imposing hands
and praying that converts might receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost. Calvin, Dr. John Owen, and other great com-
mentators acknowledge this fact in their commentaries on
Hebrews 6:2. Chrysostom and other early commentators
support this fact.

In the preparation of this book the author is greatly
indebted for information, and often for the manner of ex-
pressing it, to writers too numerous to mention. He is
especially indebted to the biographers of the famous Chris-
tians whose experiences are described. The condensed
nature of the book has made it impossible for him to ac-
knowledge all the sources of his information, and he has
not attempted to do so.

That this account of how God has done for others ex-
ceeding abundantly above all that they asked or thought
(Ephesians 3:20) may be the means of leading others to
** hunger and thirst after righteousness,'' so that they may
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth,
and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love
of Christ which passeth (human) knowledge, that they may
be filled with all the fulness of God (Ephesians 3: 18, 19),
is the prayer of

The Author.

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OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

A careful study of the Old Testament will reveal the
feet that in Old Testament times, as in New Testament
times, those who accomplished great things for God were
first anointed by the Holy Spirit, and endowed with power
from on high. No great work has ever been accomplished
except through the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the
great Executive of God, carrying out tfie will of God in all
things. From the first chapter of Genesis we learn that
" the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters," and
that He created all things in obedience to God's commands.
The Holy Spirit is the source of all life, both spiritual and
temporal. " It is the Spirit that quickeneth," or giveth life
(John 6: 63), so that in God " we live, and move, and have
our being" (Acts 17:28). Scientists have sought in vain
to discover the secret of life, not knowing that the Holy
Spirit is the great source of all life. But the patriarch Job
knew that it was through the power of the Spirit that God
created all things, when he said, " By his Spirit he hath
garnished the heavens" (Job 26:13). Elihu also under-
stood it when he said, " The Spirit of God hath made me,
and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life " (Job

33 ••4).

Not only did the Holy Spirit bring all things into being

at God's command, but He gave the tabernacle builders

the wisdom to perform their work (Exodus 28 : 3 ; 31 : 2, 3 ;

and 35:30, 31), and he qualified all the great patriarchs.

IS

i6 OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

prophets, judges, and kings for the work God had for
them to do.

THE PATRIARCHS.

That it was the power of the Holy Spirit which made
the Old Testament patriarchs such princes with God and
men is very evident. Enoch must have been filled with the
Spirit of God, because he ''walked with God " (Genesis 5:
22, 24), and prophesied (Jude 14), and was translated
(Hebrews 11:5); and we know that it is the work of the
Holy Spirit to give grace, to reveal things, and to trans-
late people to heaven (see i Corinthians 15, and so on).
Noah must also have been endued with the Holy Spirit's
power, because he also " walked with God " (Genesis 6:9);
he talked with God (Genesis 6: 13; Hebrews 11:7) ; and
it seems that the Spirit of God spoke through him to those
who lived during the flood, and that they are now im-
prisoned in hell because they refused to hear him (i Peter
3: 18-20). Abraham also must have been filled with the
Holy Spirit, as he had many visions and special revelations
from the Lord (Genesis 15: i ; Acts 7:2; Hebrews 11 :8).
Other Old Testament patriarchs were doubtless endued with
the Holy Spirit's power in a similar manner ; but the deeper
experiences of Jacob and Joseph are more fully described
in the Word of God than those of the other patriarchs.

JACOB.

In the Bible account of Jacob's life, as perhaps in that
of no other Old Testament saint, we have revealed the
power of God to change and transform character. Before
God met Jacob at BeAel there was little to love and ad-
mire in his weak, vacillating character. His name, Jacob,
means supplanter, or deceiver, and such was his character.
By deception be obtained his brother Esau's birthright, and

OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 17

he flien started away to a strange land to escape his broth-
er's wrath. But God, who foreknows all tilings, knew
that Jacob rather than Esau was prepared to abandon the
life of selfishness and sin, and to become a chosen vessel
in His service (Romans 9:11). One night as he lay asleep
on the lonely mountains north of Jerusalem, then called
Jebus, with the stones for his pillow, the Lord began to
reveal Himself to him. In a dream the Holy Spirit re-
vealed to him a little of the glories of heaven. He saw a
ladder reaching toward heaven, and the angels of God as-
cending and descending on it ; and the Lord promised him
great blessings (Genesis 28). His experience is described
in the well known words,

** Though like a wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone,
Yet in my dreams I would be.
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee."

Jacob called the name of the place Bethel, which means
house of God, and said, *'Tbis is none other than the house
of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28: 17):
But it was only the "gate," or beginning, of Jacob's spirit-
ual experience. It was not at Bethel, but at Peniel, that
his life was completely transformed. After he had served
Laban many years, and Laban became envious of him,
Jacob started for his old home. Laban pursued him with
an army, and he also heard that his brother Esau was com-
ing witfi another army to meet him. Hemmed in between
the two armies, he seemed to be completely at their mercy,
and was at the end of his own resources. But " Man's
extremity is God's opportunity," and the darkest hour is
often before day. " Weeping may endure for a night, but
joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). "They that
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall

i8 OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

moont up wifh wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be
weary ; and they shall walk, and not faint " (Isaiah 40: 31).
Such was the case with Jacob. He knew that God only
cculd deliver him from the extremity in which he had
placed himself by his evil deeds. So he spent the night
alone with God, crying for deliverance. Doubtless it was
1ft night of bitter repentance and tears. He wrestled with
the angel of the Lord until the breaking of the day, and
said to him, '' I will not let thee go, except thou bless me *'
(Genesis 32:26). Having touched his thigh and made him
a cripple, to punish him for his sins and to keep him hum-
ble before God, the angel pronounced upon him one of the
greatest blessings that man has ever experienced. He said,
'' Thy name shaU be called no more Jacob, but Israel : for
as a prince thou hast power with God and with men, and
hast prevailed." Israel means prince of God, and from that
night at Peniel until his dying day, Jacob was truly a spir-
itual prince, and had power with God and with men. In
one night God transformed him from a weak, vacillating
deceiver, into a prince with God and men ; from Jacob (de-
ceiver) to Israel (prince of God) ; and from a refugee to
a ruler. This wonderful change was wrought in answer
to prayer, and because Jacob said, ^ 1 will not let thee go,
except thou bless me."

JOSEPH.

Another Old Testament saint whose deeper religious
experiences have been a help to many was the patriarch
Joseph. In his youth God revealed to Joseph, through
dreams and visions, that He would greatly bless him (Gene-
sis 37). But the blessings of God did not come to Joseph
until he was prepared by suffering to receive them. Human
nature is such that we cannot bear great blessings or pros-
perity without some ''thorn in the flesh," or humiliating

OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 19

experiences, to keep us from being " exalted atx>ve meas-
ure/' Paul had to be kept humble through some " thorn
in the flesh/' lest he "should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations " (2 Corinthians
12 : 7). " The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for
gold " (Proverbs 17 : 3 ; and 27 : 21). Silver can be melted
and refined in a pot, but the gold must be put right into
the fire before it can be melted and refined. Those who
are only to be silver vessels in the house of God may only
have to go through the melting pot of affliction to be re-
fined; but those who are to be golden vessels in the house
of God often have to go through the furnace fire of afflic-
tion, as did Job, Madam Guyon, and many others. Joseph
was to be a golden vessel for the Master's use, and he had
to be greatly humbled before he could bear the great hon-
ors and blessings that God was about to shower upon him.
He was betrayed by his brethren, sold as a bond-slave,
carried away into the strange land of Egypt, falsely ac-
cused of an horrible crime, and finally thrown into an
Egyptian dungeon. Thus he lost friends, and property, and
reputation, and liberty, and everything that is held dearest
in this life. This did not look like the prosperity and
blessing that God had promised him, but his faith in God
never wavered. Like the patriarch Job, in the midst of his
trials, he could say, " Though he slay me, yet will I trust
in him" (Job 13:15). Although Joseph lost everything
except his faith in God, he did not doubt God nor forsake
riim, as most men would have done under similar circum-
stances. After the Lord had sufficiently humbled him, so
that he could bear the honor, blessings and honor began
to pour in upon him. He was delivered from prison,
placed on the throne of Egypt as the virtual ruler, had his
friends and relatives restored to him, and above all this
God gave him such wisdom and understanding that even

JO OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

Pharaoh marvelled at it. -'And Pharaoh said unto his serv-
ants. Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom
the Spirit of God is ? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, For-
asmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so
discreet and wise as thou art" (Genesis 41 138, 39).

MOSES, JOSHUA, AND THE ELDERS.

In the life of Moses, the first and greatest of Israel's
judges, the Holy Spirit's power was manifest in a pre-
eminent degree. Over five hundred times in the Word of
God we are told about God speaking to Moses or Moses
speaking to God. When the Lord first called Moses to
lead the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, he went
in his own strength to deliver Israel, and killed two Egyp-
tians. Then he got frightened, and fled into the wilderness,
and spent forty years feeding sheep for his father-in-law.
By that time all his pride and self-reliance had left him.
When God again called him to go and deliver Israel from
Egypt, he felt his own weakness as he had not when the
Lord first called him to that mission. '' Now the man
Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon
the face of the earth " (Numbers 12: 3). He pleaded that
he was " slow of speech," and was not qualified to lead
Israel. But God, Who chooses and uses humble instru-
ments, said, " I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee
what thou shalt say" (Exodus 4: 12). Moses still pleaded
that the Lord would send some one else, and then the Lord
gave him Aaron as his s^kesman. After this the Spirit
of God worked through Moses and Aaron in a marvellous
manner. At the sway of Moses' rod the plagues of blood,
frogs, lice, flies, murrain, boils and blains, locusts, and
darkness were sent over the land of Egypt, the Red Sea
was divided, water was brought from the smitten rock,
and so on. Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God,

OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 2i

Moses also wrote more of the Bible than any other person,
the five books of Moses being larger than the fourteen let-
ters of Paul. When he came down from the mount, after
communing with God, his countenance was so resplendent
with the glory of God that he had to veil his face while
talking with the people (Exodus 34:33).

When Israel increased to a great nation, and the bur-
den of judging the people was too great for Moses, seventy
elders were selected to assist him in judging the people.
The Spirit of God fell upon these seventy elders, and they
began to prophesy. Joshua was afraid that they would
take the leadership away from Moses, and asked Moses to
rebuke Eldad and Medad, two of the seventy, who were
prophesying in the camp. Moses said to him, " Enviest
thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people
were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon
them!" (Numbers 12:29).

When God was about to call away Moses, he prayed
that the Lord would raise up some one to take his place.
''And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son
of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand
upon him" (Numbers 27:18). After Moses had prayed
for him, Joshua was given gp-eat power and wisdom by the
Spirit of God. He conquered seven nations and thirty-one
kings in the land of Canaan, and took possession of the
land.

OTHER JUDGES OF ISRAEL.

Not only Moses and Joshua, but all the other grezt
judges of Israel, were qualified by the Holy Spirit's power
for the work to which God had called them. They were
farmers and others from among the people, and were raised
up and anointed by the Holy Spirit to become judges over
Israel. Again and again Israel were delivered into the

29 OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

hands of their enemies because of their sins, and when they
repented Grod always raised up a great judge to deliver
them from their enemies and to rule over them. We are
expressly told concerning many of these judges that the
Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and prepared them
for the work God had for them to do. Thus, in Judges 3 :
9, 10, we read concerning Othniel, "And when the children
of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a de-
liverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even
Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. And
the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged
Israel," and so on. Likewise we read, " The Spirit of the
Lord came upon Gideon" (Judges 6:34), after which he
had power, with a little band of three hundred men, to put
to flight the great army of the Midianites who were " like
grasshoppers for multitude." Again, we read how "the
Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah" (Judges 11:29),
a man of humble birth, and of how mightily God used him
to deliver Israel from the Ammonites. From the book of
Judges we also learn that the strength of Samson was the
strength of the Lord, and that when he grieved away the
Spirit of God he was weak like other men. "And the
Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp
of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol " (Judges 13:25), and
he began to perform deeds of valor. One day he met a
lion, "And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him,
and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had
nothing in his hand " (Judges 14:6). The " Spirit of the
Lord came upon him," and he went to Ashkelon and slew
thirty of the wicked Philistines (Judges 14:19). "And
when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against
him : and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him,
and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that
was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his

OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 23

hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put
forth his hand and took it, and slew a thousand therewith "
(Judges 15 : 14, 15) • When the Spirit of the Lord left him
his power was gone (Judges 16: 20) ; but when he prayed
the power returned to him again (Judges 16:28). The
last and one of the greatest of the judges of Israel was
Samuel. As a child he grew, "and was in favour both
with the Lord, and also with men '" ( i Samuel 2 : 26). The
Lord spoke to him, and revealed many things to him by
the Holy Spirit "And all Israel, from Dan even to Beer-
sheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet
of the Lord" (i Samuel 3:20, 21).

THE KINGS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH.

As the great patriarchs and judges were filled with the
Spirit, so were the greatest and best kings of Israel and
Judah. All the good kings of Israel were anointed for
their office by the Spirit of God, and were thus qualified to
rule over the people. The anointing oil poured upon them
at their coronation s)rmbolized the Holy Spirit's anointing,
just as did the anointing oil poured upon the high priest at
his consecration. Everywhere in the Scriptures oil is used
as a symbol of the Holy Spirit and His anointing. The
prophet Samuel told Saul, who was the first king of Israel,
that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon him, and that
he would be turned into another man (i Samuel 10:6).
When the Spirit of God came upon Saul and he began ta
prophesy, the people were astonished and said, " Is Saul
also among the prophets?" (i Samuel 10:11). But some
one who knew that the same God who had made. the others
prophets had also made Saul a prophet, said, " But who is
their father?' "The Spirit of God came upon Saul" (i
Samuel 11 : 6), and he prospered until he sinned by sparing
*Agag; and then "the Spirit of the Lord departed from

Wl OLD ' TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him" (i
Samuel 16:14).

When the prophet Samuel poured the anointing oil on
David, the next great king of Israel, ''the Spirit of the
Lord came on David from that day forward '' ( i Samuel
16: 13). Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit David
wrote the noblest songs that ever were sung, and he fore-
told the coming of Christ both in humiliation and glory.
The shepherd boy on Judea's hills was made one of the
world's greatest poets, prophets, and kings. "The Spirit
of the Lord spake by m^, and his word was in my tongue*
(2 Samuel 23:2), says David; and the apostle Peter said
that the Holy Ghost spake by David (Acts i : 16). After
David sinned, he feared that he had sinned against the
Holy Ghost, and he prayed, ""Cast me not away from thy
presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and uphold me with thy
free Spirit : Then will I teach transgressors thy ways ; and
sinners shall be converted unto thee" (Psalm 51:11-13).

When Solomon, the third king over Israel, was a youth,
he chose wisdom from God, rather than long life, riches,
or honor; and because he made this choice God gave him
a wise and understanding heart, so that no one else was
so wise as Solomon (i Kings 3). His fame went out ovei
all the earth; and when the Queen of Sheba came to see
him and hear him for herself, "there was no more spirit
in her" (i Kings 10:5). She said, "the half was not
told me" (verse 7). The wisdom of this world paled into
nothingness before the marvelous wisdom which the Spirit
of God imparted to king Solomon. Wisdom and knowl-
edge are still the gifts of God's Spirit (i Corinthians 12: 8;
James 3 : 17), and God can give us wise and understanding
hearts (James 1:5). The wisdom of Solomon, the wisest

OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 25

man, like the strength of Samson, the strongest man, was a
direct gift of the Holy Spirit.

THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS.

As the Holy Spirit anointed and qualified the great
judges and kings of Israel, so He anointed and qualified
the Old Testament prophets. Without the anointing of the
Holy Spirit they would have been only ordinary men.
Isaiah was only '' a man of unclean lips/' unable to speak
with divine power, until God touched his lips with the fire
of His Holy Spirit (Isaiah 6) ; and then he became the
world's greatest and most sublime prophet. Jeremiah felt
that he was but a child, and could not be a prophet (Jere-
miah I ) ; but God so anointed him with the Holy Spirit's
power that he became '' a defenced city, and an iron pillar,
and brasen walls" (verse 18) against sin, "to root out,
and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down " the
evil, and "to build, and to plant" the good (verse 10).
He became the greatest prophet of woe and denunciation
against sin that the world has ever had. The Lord said to
him, " I will make my words in thy mouth fire " (Jeremiah
5: 14), and they were like a fire, and like a hammer that
breaketh the rock in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29). Over and
over again we read about the Spirit of the Lord being upon
Ezekiel, and inspiring him with heavenly visions and reve-
lations (Ezekiel 1:1, 3; 2:2; 3:12, 14, 22, 24; 8:1, 3;
II : I, 5, 24; 33: 22; 37: 1 ; 40: 1 ; 43- 5)- The great prophet
Elijah was so anointed with the Spirit of God that Elisha
longed for a double portion of his spirit (2 Kings 2:9), and
" the spirit and power of Elijah " became proverbial (Luke
i: 17). When the mantle of Elijah fell upon Elisha, the
Spirit of God anointed Elisha to become a great prophet (2
Kings 2), and the sons of the prophets said, " The spirit of

26 OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

Elijah doth rest on Elisha " (verse 15). Daniel was only a
Hebrew captive in a heathen land, but the Spirit of God
gave him greater wisdom than all the wise men of the great
Babylonish empire (Daniel 1:17; 4:8, g, 18; 5:11-14;
6:3) ; and like Joseph he was made the real ruler of a
world-empire. The Holy Spirit revealed to him the rise
and fall of all the empires of the world (Daniel 2 and 7).
As the Holy Spirit anointed and qualified the major pro-
phets, so He also anointed the minor prophets. Balaam was
enlightened by Him (Numbers 24:2) ; so also were Saul's
messengers (i Samuel 19:20-23); and Micaiah (i Kings
22:24; 2 Chronicles 18:23); and Amasai (i Chronicles
12:18); and Azariah (2 Chronicles 15:1); and Jahaziel
(2 Chronicles 20: 14) ; and Zechariah die son of Jehoiada
(2 Chronicles 24:20) ; and Elihu (Job 32:8, 18, 19) ; and
Micah (Micah 3:8); and all the others. The Spirit of the
Lord was in all the true prophets (Nehemiah 9: 30; i Pe-
ter 1 : 10, 11) : " For the prophecy came not in old time by
the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were
tnoved by the Holy Ghost " (2 Peter i : 21).

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

Not only was the Holy Spirit the source of all spiritual
power in Old Testament times ; but He imparted power to
John the Baptist, to the Son of God Himself, to the Gali-
lean fishermen, and to all the great saints of New Testa-
ment times. By His death on the cross, Christ opened
the way for God to pour His Spirit upon all flesh, which
He did on the day of Pentecost, ushering in the more glori-
ous dispensation foretold by Joel and other Old Testa-
ment prophets. Since the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit
has been convincing the whole world of sin, of righteous-
ness, and of judgment in a way that He did not do, ex-
cept with a few individuals, in Old Testament times; and
thus, in this dispensation of the Holy Spirit, the world
has become more responsible to God because of its increased
light and privileges.

JOHN THE BAPTIST.

John the Baptist, the great forerunner, or herald, of the
coming of Jesus, was specially anointed for His mission
by the Holy Spirit. The angel, in announcing His birth,
said, ** For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and
shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall
be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's
womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn
to the Lord their God And he shall go before him in the
spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers

27

flS NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of fhe
just ; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord " (Luke
1:15-17). When he had grown to manhood, John the
Baptist preached in the wilderness, proclaiming the com-
ing of the Christ and commanding the people to repent.
The multitudes were strangely affected by the preaching
of this great prophet. " Then went out to him Jerusalem,
and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan. And
were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins "
(Matt. 3:5, 6). Even the proud Pharisees, the material-
istic Sadducees, the despised publicans, and the hardened
soldiers went to him for counsel and advice. And what
was the secret of the wonderful power of this lonely
preacher in the wilderness, which enabled him to thus
sway the multitudes? Jesus said to the people, "What
went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken
with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man
clothed in soft raiment? Behold they that wear soft cloth-
ing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to
see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a
prophet " (Matt, 11 : 7-9). John the Baptist was no " reed
shaken with the wind," swayed by every breeze of public
opinion, pandering to the people in order to please them.
That was not what drew the multitudes to hear him. He
denounced their sins, and rebuked them to their faces
(Luke 3). Neither did they flock out into the wilderness
to see his fine clothing, for he wore only a garment of
camel's hair gfirt about him with a leather prdle. Neither
did they flock to him to get something good to eat, for
he lived on locusts and wild honey. But John the Baptist
was the "voice" of God speaking to the people, through
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that was the secret
of his wonderful power.

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS ^

John the Baptist summed up the whole gospel in two
brief sentences: " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world " (John i : 29), and, " He shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Luke 3:
16). One is the gospel of pardon for the sinner, and the
other is the gospel of power for the believer. The gospel
of pardon is also simmied up in John 3 : 16, " God so loved
the world," and so on. Too many lay great stress on the
gospel of pardon while neglecting the gospel of power.
Let us remember Luke 3 : 16 and i Corinthians 3 : 16, as
well as John 3 : 16.

JESUS THE CHRIST.

Even the Son of God Himself was anointed for service
by the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Him in the form
of a dove after His baptism. The name Christ itself is
from the Greek word for oil, chrism, and means The
Anointed One. All through the Scriptures oil is used as
a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and the Psalmist refers to
this fact when he says concerning Christ, "Thou lovest
righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows " (Psa. 45 : 7, and Hebrews 1:9). The Holy Spirit
was the " oil of gladness " with which Jesus was anointed.
In the synagogue at Nazareth, Christ applied to Himself
the prophecy in Isaiah 61 : i, 2, " The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to
bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the cap-
tives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound ;
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:
17-21). The apostle Peter also referred to this Scripture
when he spoke of " How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about

3D NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

doing good, and healing all that were oppressed with the
devil: for God was with him" (Acts 10:38), Jesus was
doubtless a better medium than any human being for the
Holy Spirit to work through, and no doubt that was why
the Holy Spirit wrought greater miracles through Him
and was more manifest in His life than in the life of any
human being. He "spake as never man spake," all the
sick who touched but the hem of His garment were made
perfectly whole, with a few loaves and fishes He fed the
hungry multitudes, and even the unbelievers of Nazareth
" wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of
his mouth." Christ Himself said that all these miracles
were wrought by the " finger," " hand," or " Spirit," of
God (Luke 11:20, Matt. 12:28, and so on). Referring
to the marvelous manner in which the Spirit of God
wrought through Christ's ministry. Principal Gore, in Lux
Mundi, Section VHI., says, " The Spirit anoints Him ; the
Spirit drives Him into the wilderness ; the Spirit gives Him
the law of His mission; in the power of the Spirit He
works His miracles ; in the Spirit He lifts up the voice of
human thankfulness to the Divine Father ; in the Spirit He
offers Himself without spot to God; in the power of the
Spirit He was raised from the dead."

Christ is our great example and pattern, and His life
was truly a Spirit-filled one. If the Son of God Himself
was anointed for His ministry by the Holy Spirit, how
necessary it is that we should be also!

PENTECOSTAL EXPERIENCE OF THE APOSTLES.

On the day of Pentecost was given the world's greatest
example of God's power to transform the lives and char-
acter of men, so as to make the weak strong and power-
ful. Pentecost was the pouring out of the " former rain "
of God's Spirit, jttst as in these last days there will h^ an

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 31

outpouring of the "latter rain" (Hos. 6:3; Zech. 14:7;
and Jas. 5:7). By His death on the cross, Jesus made so
great an atonement for sin that God could safely pour
out His Spirit on all mankind without the universe think-
ing that He was regarding sin lightly. It was the atone-
ment of Christ therefore that purchased the great Pente-
costal gfift for the world. " When he ascended up on high,
he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men" (Psa.
68:18, and Eph. 4:8). Before the ascension of Christ
the Holy Spirit was not yet poured upon all flesh, "be-
cause that Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:39).
Jesus told His disciples that it was expedient, or profita-
ble, that He should go away, because if He did not go
away the Comforter would not come (John 16:7). He
must complete His great work of atonement for the world
before the Comforter could come. And it was better for
the followers of Jesus that the Holy Spirit should be poured
upon them and upon the world than that Jesus Himself
should remain with them. While in the body Jesus could
be in only one place at a time, but the Comforter could
be everywhere present to convince men of. sin and of
righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8). His three
great offices are to convince men of sin, to show them the
way of righteousness, and to warn them of coming judg-
ment. He does this by influencing men's hearts and minds
from without, or by coming to dwell within them. Upon
those in whom He dwells He bestows one or more of His
seven different spiritual pfts. The seven different gifts
of the Holy Spirit seem to be spoken of in Revelation as
" the seven Spirits of God " (Rev. 4 : 5, and 5:6). They
were probably typified in the golden candlestick with its
seven branches and seven lamps in the tabernacle and tem-
ples of the Old Testament. The apostle Paul seems to
enumerate nine gifts of the Holy Spirit in i Corinthians 12 ;

32 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

but healing and miracles are probably the same gift, and
tongues and the interpretation of tongues probably belong
to the one gift, so that there are but seven distinct gifts
mentioned.

Before Pentecost, Jesus said to His disciples, " I have
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth" (John 16:12, 13). He
knew that His disciples were only weak spiritual babes,
even after all he had taught them, and He commanded
them to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with
power from on high (Luke 24:49, and Acts 1:4-8). He
also said to them, " But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be wit-
nesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth"
(Acts 1:8). If the disciples had not believed that prom-
ise there might have been no Pentecost. If they had said
that they were already converted and that they were not
looking for any deeper experience, the world might be still
groping in heathen darkness. But their faith laid hold of
the promise, and great were the results.

The disciples seem to have prayed together ten days be-
fore the promised Comforter came. One, two, three, four,
five, then six days went by, and then a whole week, and
still no Comforter came; but their faith did not waver.
They tarried on in the upper room until the morning of
the tenth day before the Comforter came. We know not
why they had to tarry so long for the Holy Spirit, for
there is no other Bible example of men praying so long a
time before they received the Pentecostal gfift. Perhaps
they did not fully meet God's conditions before the tenth
day, or He may have designed that they should be fully
prepared and humbled by long and lamest prayer so that

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 3^

they would not be puffed up and exalted by the gresit bless-
ing He was about to pour upon them. It is more prob-
able, however, that the great reason why God did not send
the Holy Spirit sooner was because He purposed to send
Him on the day of Pentecost, or fiftieth day after the
passover (Pentecost means fiftieth), when multitudes of
Jews from all over the world were present in Jerusalem.
Pentecost was one of the three great annual feasts, or re-
ligious gatherings, of the Jews. It was a time of rejoic-
ing over the first-fruits, and it was appropriate that on
that day the "first-fruits of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:23)
should be poured upon the world. It is estimated that in
the time of Christ between one and two million Jews were
in Jerusalem to attend the feast of Pentecost. The Bible
tells us about Jews of every nation being present to hear
the disciples witness to the outpouring of the Spirit. The
Jews were still God's "husbandmen," or chosen people,
through whom He was revealing Himself to the world, just
as the Gentiles are now His chosen people ; and by waiting
until Pentecost to pour His Spirit upon them, He secured
witnesses from every nation to testify to the outpouring
of the Spirit.

Early on the ^loming of Pentecost the Holy Spirit
came with such demonstration and power that no one pres-
ent could ever doubt the reality of His coming. "They
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And
there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance " (Acts 2: 1-4).
Rev. William Arthur, in his splendid little book "The

Tongue of Fire," suggests that the cloven tongues typified
3

PSI

34 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

the new power which the disciples would receive to preach
the gospel, and that is the generally accepted opinion. The
cloven tongues may have typified the fact that their power
of speech would be doubled, and also that they would not
speak of themselves but that another would speak through
them. When the Holy Ghost fell on them He gave them
power to witness for Christ When Jesus called the ignor-
ant fishermen from the sea of Galilee to come and follow
Him, He promised to make them fishers of men (Matt.
4: 19). On the day of Pentecost this promise was fulfilled,
and they indeed became fishers of men. On that day the
Lord enabled them to catch more men than they caught
fish in the miraculous draught of fish on the sea of Galilee.
Peter and John, two of the Galilean fishermen, afterwards
spoke with such boldness that the people, who knew that
they were unlearned and ignorant men, ''took knowledge
of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).
Before leaving His disciples, Jesus had promised that they
should do even greater works than He did (John 14: 12),
and this promise Mras also fulfilled at Pentecost. During
Christ's earthly ministry very few people seem to have
been converted to God through Him. The greatest num-
ber of converts mentioned is "five hundred brethren"
(i Cor, 15:6). But after He ascended to the Father, and
. sent the promised Comforter, the disciples led three thou-
sand converts to the foot of the cross in one day, and
several days later five thousand more seem to have been
converted (Acts 4:4). Surely these were greater works
than Jesus accomplished during His earthly ministry! In
a moment of time God changed the ignorant fishermen of
Galilee into the world's greatest preachers. In a moment
of time they learned more about Christ than they had
learned in three years walking and talking with Hun U^

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 35

fore they were filled with the Spirit, although He was the
greatest teacher who ever appeared in human form. Al-
though the apostles had been so long a time with the Son
of God Himself, and had seen all His miracles and lis-
tened to all His teachings, they were only spiritual babes,
and did not understand the first principles of the gospel,
until the day of Pentecost They quarreled among them-
selves who should be greatest, they looked for Christ to
immediately set up an earthly kingdom and subdue His
enemies, some of them resorted to the use of carnal wea-
pons, all deserted Christ in His trial and condemnation,
Peter denied Him with swearing and cursing, and in many
other ways the apostles showed their lack of spiritual
power and understanding. But on the day of Pentecost
this was all changed, and they received ''power from on
high." Poor, weak, vacillating Peter, who had promised
to be true to Christ though all others should forsake Him
and soon afterwards denied Him with an oath, was now
transformed into another man. In the power of the Spirit
he arose and preached such a sermon that three thousand
persons were pricked to their heart, and cried out " Men
and brethren, what shall we do?" All the apostles sud-
denly became spiritual grants, faced the enemy with cour-
age, preached the gospel with boldness, and afterwards
carried it throughout the world, and all except John seem
to have suffered as martyrs for Christ.

The multitudes who gathered tc^ether to hear the dis-
ciples on the day of Pentecost did not believe that Jesus
was Divine. They thought that they had crucified a mere
man and not the Son of God. But the Holy Ghost, wit-
nessing through the disciples, convinced them that Jesus
was Divine, and that they had crucified the Son of God.
Then it was that they were pricked to their heart with thiC

36 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

arrow of conviction and cried aloud for mercy. It is the
work of the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus, and show men
that He is the Divine Son of God. " No man can say that
Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost " (i Cor. 12: 3) ;
but when the Holy Spirit lays hold of a man's heart he is
soon convinced of Christ's Divinity. It is His work to
draw all men to Christ. The great Spirit-filled evangelist
Charles G. Finney said that wherever He went all forms
of unbelief vanished when the Holy Spirit was poured upon
the people. The Holy Spirit can teach men more about
Christ in one hour than the greatest preacher can teach
them in fifty or even in a hundred years without the Spirit
enlightening them.

DEEPER EXPERIENCES OF THE APOSTLE PAUL.

As Moses was .the greatest leader and writer among
Old Testament saints, so Paul was the greatest leader and
writer among the New Testament saints. Persecuter, mur-
derer, blasphemer, and " chief of sinners " though he was
before his conversion, God completely transformed his life,
and made him one of the greatest examples of what Divine
grace and power can do in and through a human being.
On his way to Damascus to bind the saints and deliver
them to death, he was suddenly smitten down in the road
by a light from heaven far more powerful than the noon-
day sun. Some of the destructive critics, or so-called
"higher critics," who know little about the grace and
power or God, have suggested that Paul had a sunstroke
on his way to Damascus ; and someone has rejoined that if
a sunstroke can so transform the life and character of a
man, it is a pity these so-called " higher critics " could not
all have sunstrokes too. Paul seems to have been blinded
by the glory and power of the light which shone from

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS zr

heaven, and after his ccmversion to Christ he had to be led
into Damascus. Then God appeared in a vision to an
earnest Christian named Ananias, and sent him to instruct
and pray for Paul. Laying his hands on Paul, as was then
the usual custom in praying for a person, he said, '' Brother
Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the
way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest i^
ceive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost " (Acts
9: 17). Paul's eyesight was immediately restored, and he
was baptized. At this time he was doubtless filled with
the Spirit, whether before or after his baptism we cannot
say. Soon after this he went down into Arabia, and dur-
ing the interval between the 9th and 13th chapters of Acts
no mention is made concerning him. Conybeare and How-
son, in their great work on the life and labors of St. Paul,
and other authorities on the subject, believe that during
this interval of about three years Paul was in the desert
of Arabia, learning of God (see Gal. 1:17, 18). They
believe that it was then that he was caught up into the
third heaven, and heard things unlawful to be uttered (2
Cor. 12:4). However that may be, it is certain that he
had such an abundance of visions and revelations from
God as no human being could have unless they also had
something to keep them humble. Mr. Moody, the great
evangelist, used to say that if God had revealed anything
more concerning heaven we would be so homesick to go
there that we could not attend to our everyday duties on
earth ; and that if He had revealed anything more concern-
ing future punishment in hell men would be so terror-
stricken that they would not be able to attend to their or-
dinary occupations. Perhaps that is what Paul meant when
he said that it was not lawful for a man to utter what he
had heard in paradise. Paul himself could not have borne

j8 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

the glory of these revdatioiis, but for the fact that a ** thorn
in the flesh, the messenger of satan/' was allowed to buffet
him, lest he should be exalted above measure through the
abundance of the revelations given unto him (2 Cor. 12 : 7).
Three times he besought God to remove this " thorn," be-
fore he realized that the Lord allowed it for the purpose
of keeping him humble. When at last he realized how
God's strength was made perfect through his weakness, he
said, " Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my in-
firmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. There-
fore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in neces-
sities, in persecutions, in distress, for Chrst's sake: for
when I am weak then am I strong " (verses 9 and 10). In
other words, he could say, ** Lord, if I need afflictions and
troubles to keep me humble when I have such great reve-
lations of Thy glory, I will be glad to have such afflictions,
so that Thy power may rest upon me." There are many
different opinions with regard to the nature of Paul's
"thorn in the flesh." Some think that it was a sin of
some kind which he could not overcome, and they use
this as an excuse for living in sin. But Paul represents
himself as " free from sin " (Rom. 6: 7, 18, 22, and 8:2),
as ''dead to sin" (Rom. 6:2, 6, 11), and as more than
conqueror (Rom. 9:37; 2 Cor. 2:14). Whatever Paul's
thorn was, it certainly was not sin, for the apostle would
not glory in sin, as he gloried in his infirmities. He said
that charity, or love, '* rejoiceth not in iniquity " ( i Cor.
13 ; 6). Some have thought that Paul's thorn was epilepsy,
others that it was dyspepsia, and so on; but the most rea-
sonable supposition seems to be that it was weak tyts.
That would make his bodily presence seem contemptible
(2 Cor. 10:10), and would account for him saying that
the Galatian brethren would have plucked out their ows

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 39

eyes and given them to him if it had been possible for
them to do so (Gal. 4:15). It would also explain the
fact that nearly all of his letters were 'Written by secre-
taries, and that sometimes two or three secretaries were
employed in writing one letter (see notes at the close of
his epistles, from Romans to Hebrews). One of the long-
est epistles written by Paul himself was the book of Gala-
tians ; and at the close of it he says, " Ye see how large a
letter I have written unto you with mine own hand " (Gal.
6:11); and yet the epistle is not a remarkably long one
for so great a scholar to write if he had good eye-sight
and nerves, for Paul was one of the greatest scholars of
his time. Finally, at his trial before the high-priest, Paul
seems not to have recognized him (Acts 23:5), although
anyone with good eye-sight ought to have been able to
recognize the high priest by his gorgeous robes. All these
facts seem to point definitely to the conclusion that Paul
had weak eyes; and some think that his eyes never fully
recovered from the dazzling effect of the great supernat-
ural light he saw on his way to Damascus. Whatever
Paul's " thorn in the flesh ** may have been, it was neces-
sary to keep him htmible when God was showing him so
great revelations. None of us, perhaps, have had so great
revelations as Paul, yet it may be that afflictions have been
necessary to keep us humble also.

The power of the Holy Spirit was so manifest in the
preaching of Paul that even the great Roman ruler Felix
trembled when the little apostle stood before him and rea-
soned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come ;
and King Agrippa was almost persuaded to be a Qiristian.
Like a fire-brand he went through Asia Minor and Greece,
and finally to Rome also, kindling a mighty conflagration
whkh soon enveloped the whole world. When Paul and

40 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

Silas came to Thessalonica, all the city was in an uproar,
saying, ''These that have turned the world upside down
have come hither also" (Acts 17:6). Some one has said
that they turned the world upside down and right side up
for God. Truly the apostle Paul could say, "And my
speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power" (i Cor. 2:4). He also said, "Our gospel came
not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance " (i Thes. 1:5). And
in another place he said, " The weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down
of strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:4).

The apostle Paul had drunk so deeply from the wells
of salvation (Isa. 12:3) that he longed for others to en-
joy the same experience. We find him exhorting the Ro-
man brethren to be dead indeed unto sin (Rom. 6 and 8),
to bring forth fruit unto holiness (Rom. 6:22), to pray
in the Spirit (Rom. 8:26), to present their bodies a liv-
ing sacrifice to God (Rom. 12: i), and to be led by the
Spirit in everything (Rom. 12:6-8). He wrote to them,
" I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in
the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ " (Rom.
15:29). Would that every one of God's children could
say the same. He urged the Corinthian brethren not to
remain weak and carnal, even as babes in Christ, but to
become strong and spiritual (i Cor. 3). He wrote to them,
''Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not
have you ignorant" (i Cor. 12:1), after which he de-
voted a great part of his letter to explaining spiritual gifts,
without which the church would be like a body without
eyes, hands, feet, and so on. In his second epistle to them
he explained how the Spirit of the Lord changed people

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 41

into the image of the Lord, from glory to glory (2 Cor.

3: 18). In this epistle he urged them to be separate from

the world (6:17), to perfect holiness (7:1), and to be

perfect (13:11). He tells the Galatian brethren how

he travailed in soul for them until Christ should be formed

in them (Gal. 4: 19). He was so anxious for them to be

like Christ that he was in a great agony of prayer for

them until this should be accomplished, or until they should

be transformed into the Lord's image. He told them to

walk in the Spirit and they would not fulfil the lust of

the flesh (Gal. 6: 17). In his epistle to the Ephesians,

Paul again and again urges them to ''be filled with the

Spirit" (5:18) He says, "I . . . cease not to give thanks
for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the

God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inherit-
ance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of
his power to us-ward who believe, according to the wor!
ing of his mighty power" (Eph. i: 16-19). He also says
to them, " I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and
earth is named. That he would grant unto you, according
to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded
in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what
is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And
to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto
him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that

42 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

we ask or think, according to the power that work-
cth in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ

Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen'*
(Eph. 3:14-20). He explained to them that spiritual
gifts were for the perfecting of the saints, that they might
become mature men, " Till we all come in the unity of the
faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the ful-
ness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). Without these spiritual
gifts in the church. Christians would never become strong
and mature. Paul urged the Ephesian brethren to put on
the whole spiritual armor of God, that they might be able
to stand against every temptation (Eph. 6). With this
armor they would "be able to quench all the fiery darts
of the wicked" (verse 16). In like manner Paul prayed
for the Colossian brethren to be filled with the knowledge
of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
(Col. 1:9); and he prayed for the Thessalonian brethren
that God would sanctify them wholly, and that their whole
spirit, and soul, and body might be preserved blameless
until the coming of the Lord (i Thes. 5:23). He urged
both the Thessalonian and Hebrew brethren to follow holi-
ness, without which no man would see the Lord (i Thes.
4:3, 7 and Heb. 12:14).. These are only a few of the
many examples of Paul's longings and prayers that others
might partake of the same deep, rich, full spiritual expe-
rience which he enjoyed.

DEEPER EXPERIENCE OF THE SAMARITAN DISCIPLES.

Among the men "full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom"
selected as deacons of the first Christian church, at Jerusa-
lem, was Philip, the evangelist (Acts 6). In Acts, the
eighth chapter, we read the story of how he went to Sa«

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 43

maria and preached the gospel. There was a great revival
in that city under his preaching. Many believed the things
he preached, for Qirist had prepared the way when He
preached to the woman of that city and then to all the
people (John 4). Great miracles were wrought, and there
was g^eat joy in the city. The people who were converted
under Philip's preaching were baptized, both men and
women. "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they
sent unto them Peter and John. Who, when they were
come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the
Holy Ghost (For as yet he was fallen upon none of
them; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they re-
ceived the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8: 14-17).

THE EPHESIAN DISCIPLES FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.

In the nineteenth chapter of Acts, we read about Paul
going to the city of Ephesus. "And finding certain dis-
ciples. He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost
since ye believed?" If every believer had received the Holy
Ghost, then Paul's question would have been a very fool-
ish one. But these believers had "not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost." This surprised Paul,
for he thought that they must have heard about the Holy
Spirit when they were baptized in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He said, "Unto
what then were ye baptized?" They then told him, "Unto
John's baptism." This explained why they had not heard
about the Holy Ghost when they were baptized, for John
only baptized unto repentance, and not in the name of the
Fatiier, Son, and Holy Ghost. "When they heard this, they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus," or with
Christ's baptism, which was in the name of the Father,

44 VEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

Son, and Holy Ghost ''And when Paul had laid his hands
upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them ; and they spake
with tongues, and prophesied" (verses i-6). Paul may
have referred to this experience of the Ephesian disciples,
and to other similar experiences, when he afterwards said,
in his epistle to the Ephesians, "In whom ye also trusted,
after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation; in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:13).
The early Christian writers all refer to the filling of the
Spirit as the "sealing" of the Spirit.

THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

Most of the great Bible scholars and commentators,
and most of the great church historians are agreed upon
the fact it was the custom of the early church to pray for
all believers to be filled with the Spirit. The usual custom
was to baptize the converts, and then the elders would lay
hands on them and pray for them to receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost. The laying on of hands (in prayer for the
Holy Spirit) is mentioned in Hebrews 6 : 2 as one of the
" first principles, " or foundation principles, of the gospel ;
and in the case of Paul, the Samaritan disciples, and the
Ephesian disciples, we have examples of this early custom.
The Holy Spirit came without the la}ring on of hands on
the day of Pentecost, but some think that this was because
there were then no Spirit-filled persons to lay hands on the
disciples and pray for them to be filled with the Spirit
The Holy Spirit also fell upon G)melius and his house-
hold and friends without t];^e laying on of hands in prayer,
and while Peter was preaching to them (Acts 10:44) ; but
some suppose that this was because no Jew would lay hands
on Gentiles to pray for them to be filled with the Spirit
until after God poured His Spirit on Cornelius. The

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 45

Scrqyttires say that the Jews were astonished when they
saw that God had poured His Spirit upon the Gentiles
also (Acts 10:45).) '^c great scholar and Bible com-
mentatcM-y Dr. Lightfoot, tells us, in his ExerciiaHons, on
Acts 2: 17, that it was a maxim among the Jews ''That the
Holy Spirit is never imparted to any Gentile. " Q>melius
also received the Holy Spirit before he was baptized, but
some have thought that this was because no Jew would
have baptized Gentiles until after God poured His Spirit
upcm Cornelius and his friends. Peter would doubtless
have refused to preach to Gentiles had not God shown Him
tfiree times in a vision to do so (Acts 10). However this
may be, it seems certain that the usual order in the early
Christian church was first conversion, then baptism, then
die laying on of hands in prayer for the Holy Spirit Peter
doubtless referred to this order of things on the day of
Pentecost, when the people were pricked to their hearts
with conviction of sin and cried aloud, ''Men and brethren,
what shall we do?'' Peter said, "Repent, and be bap-
tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you, and to your chil-
dren, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call " (Acts 2 : 38, 39). Severd of the early
Christian writers express the opinion that the Ethiopian
eunuch was filled with the Spirit immediately after his bap-
tism, and give this as the reason why he went on his way
rejoicing after the Spirit caught away Philip, instead of
feeling sad at the separation (Acts 8:.39). This explana-
tion seems to be a very reasonable one.

The laying on of hands in prayer was a very ancient
custom, and the early Christians* probably adopted it from
the Jews. Jacob laid his hands upon the sons of Joseph
wlmi blessing th^n (Genesis 48: 14). Moses laid hands

46 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

on Joshua, as the Lord commanded him to do, when pray-
ing for Joshua to be filled with the Spirit (Num. 27: 18,
23), the early Christians usually laid hands on the sick
when praying for their recovery (Mark 16), Paul speaks
of the gift given to Timothy by the laying on of the hands
of the presbytery, or elders (i Timotiiy 4: 14; 2 Timothy
1:6), and so on. The custom of laying hands on min-
isters when ordaining them is practiced in the churches to-
day; but the ancient custom of laying hands on all be-
lievers, and praying for them to be filled with the Spirit,
is no longer observed by many of the Protestant churches.
While God can, and doubtless often does, give the Holy
Spirit without the laying on of hands, it might be well to
restore this ancient custom. It probably is a means of
strengthening the faith and concentrating the thoughts of
the person prayed for. The Greek Church and other East-
em churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran
Church, the Church of England, and a few smaller
churches, still retain a relic of the old apostolic custom of
laying on hands in prayer for the Holy Spirit in what they
call Confirmation Services, although it is to be feared that
these services are often little more than a mere form. In
the confirmation services of all these churches the bishops,
or priests, lay hands on the persons confirmed and pray
for them to be filled with the Holy Ghost. The mere form,
however, amounts to but little unless the Holy Spirit actu-
ally comes to dwell within. If He does this either with or
without laying on of hands, there will be new life and
power in the experience of the Christian.

The early Christian church believed in and prayed for
the filling of the Holy Spirit, and this was the secret of its
power. It lived in the Spirit, walked in the Spirit, prayed
in the Spirit, and sang in the Spirit. Its meetings were
conducted in the Pentecostal order, or manner; everyone

NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS 47

praying, singing, or testifying as they were moved by the
Spirit The Holy Spirit prayed through them, spoke
through them, sang through them, comforted them, anointed
them, strengthened them, and enlightened them. Of the
first church, at Jerusalem, we read, " And great grace was
upon them all" (Acts 4:33). Soon after Pentecost they
were gathered together in prayer, and the Holy Ghost again
came with such power as to shake the place where they
were assembled together, and all who were not previously
filled with the Spirit were now filled, so that "they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God
with boldness" (Acts 4:31). Concerning other churches
in the Holy Land, we read, "Then had the churches rest
throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were
edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied " (Acts 9: 31).
The Gentiles as well as the Jews had their Pentecost,
when the Holy Ghost fell upon Cornelius and his house-
hold and friends (Acts 10), and after that Jews and Gen-
tiles were all one in Christ (Romans 3:9; Galatians 3:22-
28; Ephesians 2: 11-19). Some believe that Cornelius and
his friends were justified, or saved, before the Holy Ghost
fell upon them, and the words of Peter seem to indicate
this (Acts 10:34,35). But if they were not justified be-
fore Peter spoke to them, they were both justified and filled
with the Spirit while he was speaking to them (Acts 10 :44) .
The Apostle Paul could say to the church at Corinth,
" Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (i Corinthians 3:16).
And to Christians in general the Apostle John could write,
" But ye have an unction, from the Holy One, and ye know
all things" (i John 2:20). These, and many other Scrip-
tures, show that the New Testament church was truly a
Spirit-filled one. We read concerning the men chosen a3

48 NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

deacons of the first Christian church, that they were *'full
of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" (Acts 6:3,5). One of
these, Stephen, was so filled with the Spirit that his face
shone like the countenance of an angel (Acts 6: 15). With
such unction and officers, it is little wonder that the early
Christian church went forth conquering and to conquer,
and soon won the world nominally to Christ; a few Ju-
dean peasants overturning the entire fabric of paganism.

" Oh, for the Spirit's quickening power;
Oh, for a soul-refreshing shower;
Oh, for the Pentecostal power;
Lord| send it now/'

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

The two preceding chapters describe the deeper spiritual
experiences of Bible characters. Doubtless there were
many Spirit-filled saints, especially among the Gentiles in
Old Testament times, whose names are not so much as men-
tioned in the Scriptures.

GENTILE SAGES TAUGHT BY THE SPIRIT.

A careful study of the writings of Socrates, Plato, and
other great Greek and Roman philosophers, will reveal the
fact that some of these sages had considerable knowledge
concerning the true God. They may have received this
knowledge through contact with the Jews, or by reason, or
by direct revelation, or by all of these means.

Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, seems not only
to have had a knowledge of God, but he seems also to have
realized something concerning the Holy Spirit's power. He
constantly affirmed that he was guided and taught by a
" friendly daemon, or spirit, and to this fact he ascribed
whatever wisdom he possessed (See Plato's Apology for
Socrates, Chapter xviii). It may be that the Spirit of God
actually taught these great heathen philosophers many
things, as He seems to have taught Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar
and some other Gentile kings mentioned in the Bible.

The famous Greek philosopher and mathematician,
Pythagoras, who laid the foundations of the higher math-
ematics of today, said, "Without light (illumination^ or

49

5C OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

enlightenment) nothing is to be uttered concerning God.**
This very much resembles what Paul taught when he said,
'' But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (i Co-
rinthians 2: 14).

The great Roman orator, Cicero, expressed the opinion
that no man could attain to moral excellence " without a
certain divine inspiration" (See Cicero's Nature of the
Gods, Boo^ II).

The great heathen philosopher Seneca, writing to Lu-
cilius, Epistle 61^ says, " God is present with us, He is with
thee, He is within thee. This I say, Lucilius: a Holy
Spirit dwelleth within us, of our good and evil works the
observer and the guardian. As we treat Him, so He
treateth us ; and no man is good except God be with him.
Can any rise above external fortunes, unless by His aid?
He it is from whom every good man receiveth both honor
and upright purposes."

TESTIMONY OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITERS.

The early Christian writers, both the Greek and Roman
Fathers of the Church, testify to the fact that in the second
century and later, it was customary to pray for Christians
to be filled with the Spirit, just as they were prayed for
in Bible times. In the days of TertuUian, who wrote in the
second century, it was customary also to anoint the bap-
tized believers with oil before praying for them to be filled
with the Spirit. The oil was used as a symbol of the
Holy Spirit, as it is used all through the Scriptures, al-
though there is no Bible example of anointing before
prayer for the Holy Spirit.. In Old Testament times oil
was used in anointing the priests and kings, as a symbol
of the Holy Spirit's anointing. In New Testament times

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES ji

it was used to anoint the sick before prayer was offered
for their recovery (James 5 : 14), thus symbolizing that the
Holy Spirit would do the healing. The custom of anoint-
ing persons before praying for them to be filled with the
Spirit seems to have become common soon after the time
of the apostles, as it was very widespread in the second
century. As the water in baptism symbolised the washing
or cleansing from sin, so the anointing with oil was used
to symbolize the anointing of the Holy Spirit

Tertullian, writing near the close of the second century,
in his book on Baptism, Chapter vi., says : '' The baptized,
when they come up out of the bath, are anointed with the
holy oil, and then the hand is laid upon them with the in-
vocation of the Holy Spirit. " This is clear testimony from
one of the earliest Qiristian writers to show that in his
day it was customary to pray for the newly baptized con-
verts to be filled with the Spirit.. In the same book, Chap-
ter viii., he also says : '' After baptism the hand is imposed,
by blessing, calling and inviting the Holy Spirit ; then that
most Holy Spirit willingly descends from the Father upon
the bodies that are cleansed and blessed.^' Again, in the
same chapter, he says : '' In baptism we do not receive the
Holy Ghost, but being cleansed by baptismal water, we are
disposed for the Holy Spirit under the hand of the min-
ister/' A little further on he says : " Is it not lawful for
God, by an instnunent of His own under holy hands to ac-
cord the heights and sublimity of the Spirit?" Still
further on in the same chapter, speaking concerning the
happy condition of the church at Rome, which had not
then become corrupt, he says : " She believes in God, she
signs with the water, she clothes with the Spirit, she feeds
with the eucharist, she exhorts to martyrdom; and against
this order or institution she receives no man." This means
that, near the close of the second century, no one could

Sa OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

become a member of the church at Rome (one of the larg-
est and most influential churches) unless he believed in
prayer for the newly converted and baptized to be clothed
with the Holy Spirit. In his book on The Resurrection of
the Body, Chapter viii., TertuUian thus explains the need of
being filled with the Spirit: "The flesh is consigned or
sealed that the soul may be guarded or defended ; and the
body is overshadowed by the imposition of hands, that the
soul may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit."

That prayer for the Holy Spirit was no mere form in
the second century is evident from the testimony of
Irenaeus. Writing about the middle of the second century,
or about 150 A. D., he tells us that in his time, "When
God saw it necessary, and the church prayed and fasted
much, they did miraculous things, even of bringing back
the spirit to a dead man."

Theophilus of Antioch, writing about A. D. 170, or not
long after the time of the Apostles, says that the name
Christian is derived from the Greek word for oil, chrism,
and means " anointed one," referring to the fact that the
followers of Christ were anointed with the Spirit. Living
at so early a day, and in the city where they were first
called Christians (Acts 11 : 26), his explanation seems to be
a reasonable one. Perhaps it was because Christ was com-
monly called "The Anointed" (that is what the word
Christ means) which led to Christians being called
"Anointed Ones," or Christians. Theophilus says: "We
are called Christians because we are anointed with the unc-
tion of God." With regard to the need of this unction, he
says : " For who is there that enters into contention or ath-
letic combats, but is anointed with oil ? " This refers to the
ancient custom that athletes had of anointing their bodies
with oil before entering into contests or combats. The oil
was supposed to add to their strength and suppleness. Theo-

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES 53

philus suggests that Christians should be anointed with the
Divine oil of God's Holy Spirit before entering into spirit-
ual combat.

Qement of Alexandria, writing about the close of the
second century, or soon after apostolic times, tells how the
Apostle John delivered a young man to the care of a
bishop, who baptized him^ and " afterwards he sealed him
with the Lord's signature, as with a safe and perfect
guard" (see account in Eusebius, Book III., Chapter 17).
The filling of the Spirit is commonly called " The Lord's
seal," or "The Lord's signature," by the early Christian
writers. After the church began to anoint persons with oil
before praying for them to be filled with the Spirit, the
ceremony of anointing with oil was called signaculum, or
sealing. The term " sealing " was probably derived from
Ephesians i : 13, where Paul speaks about the Ephesians
being sealed with the Holy Ghost after they had believed.
He probably refers to the time when they were filled with
the Spirit in answer to his prayer, as recorded in Acts 19,
and to other similar experiences. However this may be,
it is certain that the early Christian writers called the fill-
ing of the Spirit the " sealing of the Spirit."

The great writer Origen, about A. D. 210, also refers
to the custom of praying for the newly baptized to be
filled with the Spirit. In his Seventh Homily on Ezekiel,
he says: "The unction of Christ, of holy doctrine, is the
oil by which the holy man is anointed, having been in-
structed in the Scriptures, and taught how to be baptized ;
then changing a few things he (the minister) says to him.
Now you are no longer a catechumen, now you are re-
generated in baptism; such a man receives the unction of
God." This quotation shows, as all students of church
history know, that in the time of Origen the church was
rapidly losing her simplicity and power. The doctrine of

54 OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

baptismal r^eneration was very widespread, and tlie
church was beginning to attach more importance to form?
and ceremonies than to a living faith in Christ. She had
become so wrapped up in the symbols as to forget the
things they symbolized. Even prayer for the Hdy Spirit
was becoming a mere form, which in the following century
was named G)niirmation. In Bible times any Spirit-filled
Qiristians could pray for others to be filled with the Spirit,
as Ananias, who was not an apostle, prayed for Paul. But
gradually the Western Qiurch, which afterward became
the Roman Catholic, came to believe that only bishops had
the power or authority to pray for others to be filled with
the Spirit, and bishops no longer held the humble offices that
they held in the early church, when there seem to have
been several bishops, or elders, in each church (see Phil.
I : I ; Acts 20: 17, 28; and so on). The Eastern Church,
which afterward became the Greek Church, has always
held that any ordinary priest has the right to lay on bauds
in prayer for the Holy Spirit.

Urban the First, one of the earliest bishops of Rome,
writing about A. D. 225, says : " All faithful people ought
to receive the Holy Spirit by imposition of the bishop's
hands after baptism " (see Binius' General Councils, Tome
L, page 293).

The great St. C3rprian, writing about A. D. 250, tells
how the officials of the church in his day prayed for the
newly converted and baptized to be filled with the Spirit.
Speaking concerning the Bible account of how Peter and
John prayed for the Samaritan disciples to be filled with
the Spirit (Acts 8), he says: " The faithful in Samaria had
already obtained baptism; only that which was wanting
Peter and John supplied, by prayer and imposition of hands,
to the end the Holy Ghost might be poured upon them.
Which also is done amongst ourselves, when they which be

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES SS

sireaily baptized are brought to the rulers of the church to
obtain by our prayer and imposition of hands the Holy
Ghost " (see Cyprian's Epistle 73, To Jubianus). Cyprian,
with his colleagues, wrote to Cornelius, Bishop of Rome,
saying ''that those whom they would have to be safe
against the corruptions of their adversaries, they should
arm them with the guards and defenses of the Lord's ful-
ness*' (see Cyprian's Epistle 74). In Epistle 72, to
Stephanus, Cyprian contends that prayer for converts to be
filled with the Spirit is necessary " to complete man's sanc-
tification."

Eusebius, the historian of the early church, writing about
the dose of the third century, in his Church History, Book
vi., Chapter xliii., tells how Novatius was baptized while
sick, but was not prayed for that he might receive the Holy
Ghost. On account of this he was censured by Cornelius,
Bishop of Rome, " Because," says Eusebius, " when he re-
covered he did not receive those other things which by
the rule of the church he ought to have received, he was
not consigned with the Lord's signature by the hands of
the bishop, which having not obtained, how can he be sup-
posed to have received the Holy Ghost? " These words of
Eusebius show that in his day the Western Church, after-
wards the Roman Catholic, had already become so formal
as to imagine that the Holy Spirit could only be obtained
through the prayers and imposition of hands of a bishop.
They also show that it was the rule of the church in the
third century that all baptized converts should be prayed
for that they might receive the Holy Ghost. We have al-
ready shown that this was the custom of the church in the
first and second century. Eusebius, the early church his-
torian, writes again concerning prayer for the Holy Spirit,
in his Church History, Book iii., Chapter 23, where he calls
the filling of the Spirit, through laying on of hands in

^ OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

prayer after baptism, " a perfect phylactery or guard, even
the Lord's seal."

Firmilian, writing also in the third century, quoted by
Cyprian in Epistle 75, compares St. Paul's " confirming " of
the disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19) to the confirming of
people in his own time. Firmilian and St. Ambrose seem
to be among the first to use the word " confirm," or " con-
firmation," to describe the laying on of hands in prayer for
the Holy Spirit. The term is doubtless derived from 2
Corinthians i : 21, 22, " Now he which stablisheth (or coiP'
firmeth, as it is rendered in the ancient Latin versions) us
with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God ; who hath
also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our
hearts." The ancient writers of the church believed that
the ctablishing, anointing, and sealing referred to in these
verses meant the filling of the Holy Spirit ; and in the time
of St. Ambrose the Latin word conHrmatio, which means
confirmation, or establishing, began to be the common word
for describing imposition of hands in prayer for the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit does confirm, or establish, people ;
and the word confirmation is a good word to describe the
filling of the Holy Spirit; but the word has been used so
much to describe what is often a mere form or ceremony
administered sometimes by wicked and corrupt popes, card-
inals, and bishops, that it has lost much of the simplicity
and power of its meaning.

Melchiades, about 320 A. D., in his epistle to the Bishop
of Spain, thus describes the need of being filled with the
Spirit, which he calls "confirmation." "What does the
mystery of confirmation profit me after the mystery of bap-
tism? Certainly we did not receive all in our baptism, if
after the washing we want something of another kind. Let
your charity attend. As the military order requires that
when th^ general enters a soldier into the list he does not

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES $7

only mark him but furnishes him with arms for the battle ;
so in him that is baptized this blessing is his ammunition.
You have given a soldier, give him also weapons. And what
will it profit him if a father gives a great estate to his son
if he does not care to provide a tutor for him ? Therefore
the Holy Spirit is the guardian of our regeneration in
Christy He is Comforter, and He is the defender." The
above comparison of the regenerated person who is not filled
with the Spirit to a soldier without armor or weapons is
not only a striking one, but it is also Scriptural. Paul ex-
horts Christians to put on the whole armor of God (Ephes-
ians 6). Melchiades also says: '^ Although to them that
die presently the benefits of regeneration are sufficient, yet
to them that live the auxiliaries of confirmation are neces-
sary" (quoted by Gratian, On Consecration, Division 5,
on "The Holy Spirit").

Eusebius Emesenus, about A. D. 350, in his Sermon on
Pentecost, says : " That which imposition now gives to every
one in confirming neoph3rtes, the same did the Holy Spirit
then (on Pentecost) confer on all believers. But because
we have said that imposition of hands and confirmation
confers something on him that is bom again and regen-
erated in Christ; perhaps someone will be ready to think
with himself, and say, 'What can the ministry of con-
firmation profit me after the mystery of baptism?'" He
then proceeds to show, like Melchiades, that regeneration
makes us soldiers, but the filling of the Spirit clothes us
with armor and weapons.

Gr^ory of Nazianzen, about A. D. 370, in Discourse
xl.. Chapter 4, says, concerning the imposition of hands
in prayer for the Holy Spirit : " We therefore call it a seal
or signature, as being a guard and custody to us, and a
sign of the Lord's dominion over us." In his Exhortation
to St. Lavacrium, Discourse id.. Chapter 15, he says:

58 OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

''How shall the angel know what sheep belong to his
charge, how shall he snatch them from the enemy, if he
does not see their mark and signature?" The mark and
signature he refers to is the seal of the Holy Spirit.
Many of the early Christian writers refer to the filling
of the Spirit as the Lord's seal. They believed that in re-
generation they became the Lord's, but that the filling of
the Spirit was the Lord setting His seal or brand on them
just as a man might brand the sheep that were already his.

St. Ambrose, another great Christian writer, about
A. D. 370, in his book on the Sacraments, Chapter 2, calls
the reception of the Holy Spirit through imposition of
hands and prayer, "a spiritual seal remaining after bap-
tism that perfection may be had." In his book Concern-
ing the Mystery, Chapter vii., commenting on the words of
Paul, " He that confirmeth us with you in Christ, is God, "
he says ; " Remember that thou who hast been confirmed,
hast received the spiritual signature, the spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the
spirit of knowledge and godliness, the spirit of holy fear;
keep that thou hast received; the Father hath sealed thee,
and Christ thy Lord hath confirmed thee."

The celebrated St. Chrysostom, writing about A. D.
375, in his Homily xiii., on Acts, says : " For it is not all
one to obtain remission of sins and to have received this
virtue or power from above." In Homily xviii., on Acts
8: 16-21, he says: '* But they, it says, having come down,
prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost;
for (W yet he was fallen upon none of them. Then laid
they their hands upon them, and they received the Holy
Ghost. Seest thou not that it was not to be done in any
ordinary manner, but it needed great power to give the
Holy Spirit? For it is not all one, to obtain remission
of sins, and to receive such power." In his Homily xix..

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES »

2, on Acts 8:31-40, he takes it for granted that fhe
Ethiopian eunuch was filled with the Spirit after his bap-
tism. '" And he went, it says, on his way rejoicing. This
hints, that he would have been grieved (at the taking away
of Philip), had he known; for the greatness of his joy,
haying had the Spirit also vouchsafed to him, he did not
even see things present. " In his Commentary, on He-
brews, 6:19 2, Chrysostom, speaking concerning the six
foundation principles of the Gospel mentioned in those
verses, says: ''All these are fundamental articles; that is,
that we ought to repent from dead works, to be baptized
into the faith of Christ, and be made worthy of the gift
of the Spirit, Who is given by imposition of hands, and
we are to be taught the mysteries of the resurrection and
eternal judgment.''

The great St. Jerome, writing about A. D. 275, in his
Disputation Against the Luciferians, represents a Luci-
f erian asking why he that is baptized in the Church does not
receive the Holy Spirit but by imposition of the bishop's
hands. The answer is, ** This observation for the honor of
^e priesthood did descend from the Scriptures." Later, he
says, " If you ask where it is written, it is in the Acts of the
Apostles." He then goes on to show that if there were no
Scriptural authority for it, "the consent of the whole
Christian world in this article ought to prevail as a com-
mandent." This would indicate that in the time of Jerome
"the whole Christian world" believed in the laying on of
the bishops', or elders', hands in prayer for the Holy Spirit.
It also indicates that this had become so much of a form
or ceremony that many imagined that God would not give
the Holy Spirit except through the laying on of hands and
prayer by the bishops, or elders. The simple New Testa-
ment form of church government had already grown into
a great ecclesiastical hierarchy seeking to usurp power over

6o OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

both the souls and bodies of men. The Catholic Churdi
was losing sight of the grand simplicity of God's promises
to pour His Spirit upon every hungry, thirsty believer.
In New Testament times the elders, or church officers, usu-
ally prayed for persons to be filled with the Spirit, because
the most spiritual men were selected for church officers.
But that God never meant to confine this authority, or
privilege, to any individuals or class of individuals is
proved by His promise, "Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a
father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will
he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an
^g, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your heavenly Fiather give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask him" (Luke 11:9-13).

The celebrated St. Cyril, writing in the fourth century,
!n his Catechetical Lectures, Hi., Section 21, speaking con-
cerning Jesus, says : " When He truly was baptized in the
river of Jordan, He ascended out of the waters, and the
Holy Spirit substantially descended upon Him, like resting
upon like. And to you also in like manner, after ye have
ascended from the waters of baptism, the unction is given,
which bears the image or similitude of Him by Whom
Christ was anointed ; that as Christ after baptism and the
coming of the Holy Spirit upon Him went forth to battle
and overcome the adversary ; so ye also, after holy baptism
and the mystical unction, being vested with the armor of
the Holy Spirit, are enabled to stand against the opposite
powers." In the same lecture. Section ii., Cyril describes
how the church of his day anointed the baptized with oil

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES 5t

before praying for them to receive the Holy Ghost, and he
also explains the meaning of the ceremony. " They were
first anointed in the forehead/' says he, ''to wipe away
that shame which the first man, by his transgression had
contracted; and that they might now, with open face be-
hold the glory of the Lord. Then they were anointed on
the ears, that they might have ears to h^r the divine mys-
teries. After that, on the nose and heart ; that they might
be a sweet savor unto the Lord ; and being armed with the
breastplate of righteousness, might be able to stand all
the insults of the devil." In Bible times the anointing with
oil seems usually to have been the pouring or placing of a
little oil on the head, or forehead; but in Old Testament
times the Uood of the consecration offering was applied to
the right ear, thumb, and great toe of the high priest to
symbolize his entire consecration (Lev. 8: 24). The church
of Cyril's day seems to have had a much more elaborate
ceremony with the anointing oil to symbolize what the ^
Holy Spirit would do for those in whom He came to dwell.

St Hilary, writing in the fourth century, speaking con-
cerning Christ receiving the anointing of the Spirit after
His baptism, says: ''The Father's voice was heard, that
from those things which were consummated in Christ we
might know that after the baptism of water the Holy
Spirit from the gates of heaven flies unto us; and that
we are to be anointed with the unction of a celestial glory,
and be made the sons of God by the adoption of the voice
of God, the truth by the very effects of things prefigured
unto us the similitude of a sacrament."

St. Augustine, the most celebrated of all the early
Christian writers, writing about A. D. 380, in his work
Against the Donatists, Book ii., Chapter 6, says: ''At the
first times the Holy Spirit fell upon the believers, and
th^ spake with tongues which they had not learned, ac-

da OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

cording as the Spirit gave them utterance. They were
signs fitted to the seasons; for so the Holy Spirit ought
to have signified in all tongues, because the gospel of God
was to run through all the nations and languages of the
world; so it was signified, and so it passed through. But
is it expected that they upon whom there is imposition of
hands that they might receive the Holy Spirit that they
should speak with tongues?" In his book on The Trinity,
Book XV., Chapter xxvi., Augustine says : " In propriety
of speech, neither the apostles or any other man, but Christ
alone, as He is God, could give the Holy Ghost; for the
apostles only laid hands on men, that the Holy Ghost by
their prayers might descend upon them; which custom
the church now observed and practised by her bishops and
governors also." Commenting on John 6, and speaking
concerning the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus, Augus-
tine says: "The dove in Christ's baptism did represent
% and prefigure our unction that is the Holy Spirit coming
upon us after baptism." In his work On Baptism, Book
iii.. Chapter xvi., he says : " For by the Holy Spirit, which
is given only in the Catholic Church by imposition of
hands, our forefathers would have us to understand that
which the apostle says, 'The love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.' "
In Sermon XLIX., on Luke vii., Augustine takes it for
granted that the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8) received the
Holy Spirit after his baptism. After speaking about Peter
and John pra3ring for the Samaritan disciples to be filled
with the Spirit, he refers to the case of the Ethiopian
eunuch, and says: ''When the mystery of the sacrament
of baptism had been accomplished, that the gift of the
Holy Ghost might not be thought to be of men, there was
no waiting, as in the other case, for the apostles to come,
Ibut the Holy Ghost came forthwith." In Sermon XXI^

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES 63

on The Blasphemy Agamst the Holy Ghost, Augustine ex-
plains Acts 2 : 37, 38, as follows : '' And Peter said to them,
Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost, In the Church truly in which
was Uie Holy Ghost, were tx)th brought to pass, that is,
both the remission of sins, and the receiving of the gift/'
This is indisputable evidence that the Church of the fourth
century believed in both the remission of sins and the gift
of the Holy Spirit Augustine himself seems to have felt
that the Holy Spirit was leading and directing him. In
the sernxMi above referred to, on The Blasphemy Against
the Holy Ghost, he says: "' I did not think I could do jus-
tice to that understanding of it (his subject) which was
in some dqpree opened to me, by words suggested at the
moment. But as I listened to today's lesson, upon which
it was my duty to discourse to you, as the Gospel was be-
ing read, there was such a beating at my heart, that I be-
lieved it was God's will that you should hear something
of the subject by my ministry."

Padanus, Bishop of Barcelona, who died about A. D.
390, writing on Baptism, says : ** In baptism our sins are
deansed, in confirmation the Spirit is poured upon us ; anr^
both these are obtained by the hands and mouth of the
bishop."

Asterius, Bishop of Amasea, about A. D. 400, compares
die gift of the Holy Ghost, through the laying on of
hands after baptism, to the ring which the father put on
the finger of the prodigal after his return.

Theodoret, in the fifth century, commenting on Can-
tides i. 2, says : ** Remember that holy mystagogy, in which
thqr who were initiated, after the renouncing that tyrant
(the devil) and the confession of the true King, have re-
ceived the dirism of spiritual unction like a royal sig-

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

nature, by that unction/ as in a shadow, perceiving ffie uh
visible grace of the most Holy Spirit/'

Pope Leo the Great, about A. D. 460, in Epistle Ixxix.,
Chapter 7, writing to Nicetas, Bishop of Aquileia, com-
mands that heretics returning to the church should have
hands laid on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
for, says he, " they have only received the form of baptism
without the virtue of sanctification."

Lucherius Lugdenenses, also writing in the fifth cen-
tury, says : ** The same thing that is done now in the im-
position of hands on individual persons, is no other than
that which was done upon all believers in the descent of
the Holy Spirit; it is the same ministry, and all derived
from the same authority."

In the writings usually attributed to Dicmyisius the
Aeropagite, and probably written about A. D. 600, in The
Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Chapter ii., there is a description
of how prayer was offered for the baptized, that they might
receive the Holy Spirit ''Then (after baptism) they
bring them again to the bishop, and he consigns them with
the most divinely operating unction/' Further on we
read: ''But even to him who is consecrated in the most
holy mystery of regeneration the perfective uncticm of
chrisn? gives him the advent of the Holy Spirit'' The
learned Church of England bishop, Jeremy Taylor, in his
" Discourse on Confirmation," explains how the imposition
of hands in prayer for the Holy Spirit came to be known
as " the sacrament of chrism/' which is the term used in
the writings just quoted. He says : " It was very early in
the diurch that to represent the grace which was min-
istered in confirmation, the unction from above, they used
oil and balsam, and so constantly used this in their con-
firmation that from the ceremony it had the appellation:
sacramentum chrismatis (the sacrament of anointing)/'

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES 6$

Pope Innocent III., in the twelfth century, in ConsHfu*
tional Decrees, Book i., Chapter 83, thus explains the mean-
ing of the anointing with oil in confirmation: " By anoint-
ing the forehead the imposition of hands is designed, be-
cause by that the Holy Spirit is given for increase and
strength/' Rabanus Maurus, writing about 800 A. D.,
says: ''In baptism the baptized was anointed on the top
of the heady in confirmation on the forehead; by that was
signified that the Holy Ghost was preparing a habitation
for Himself; by this was declared the descent of the Holy
Spirit with His seven- fold gifts with all fulness of knowl-
edge and spiritual understanding" (see Maurus' Clerical
Institutes, Book i., Chapter 30). In the time of Maurus,
when the Roman Catholic Church had almost reached the
summit of its ritualism and ceremonialism, a double
anointing with oil was practised. As Maurus explains,
the baptized were anointed with oil on top of the head in
baptism, to signify that the Holy Spirit was preparing
Himself a dwelling place within them. In confirmation
they were anointed on the forehead, to signify that the
Holy Spirit was coming in with His gifts and power. At
the present time both the Roman Catholic and Greek
Churches anoint with oil before confirmation, or prayer
for the Holy Spirit. They anoint the person to be
prayed for on the forehead, and give them a slight blow
on the cheek to signify that henceforth they will be more
able to suffer for Christ.

John of Damascus, about A. D. 700, in his work on
The Orthodox Faith, Book iv.. Chapter 10, mentions the
in-coming of the Holy Spirit. He says : " He (the Lord)
makes us His anointed ones, and by His Spirit He declares
His eternal mercy towards us."

Amalarius, in the ninth century, in his work on The
Offices of the Church, Book i., Chapter 2y, affirms that

66 OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

Pope Sylvester, " forseeing how dangerous a joum^ he
takes who abides without confirmation, brought remedy as
far as he could and commanded that in the absence of
bishops they should be anointed by the priest*'' He then
goes on to explain how the custom of laying on of hands
in prayer for the Holy Spirit was derived from the apostles
themselves.

CEcumenius, in the tenth century, commenting on He-
brews vi., 2, calls the laying on of hands for the Holy
Spirit "perfection" (telioteta). No doubt this was be-
cause the Holy Spirit was given " for the perfecting of
the saints" (Eph. 4:12).

We have traced the doctrine of the filling of the Holy
Spirit through the first thousand years of the history of
the Christian church, by means of the testimony of her
great writers. Many volumes might be filled with the testi-
mony of later writers on the same subject, but space will
not permit. Accounts might be given of the confirmation
of Constantine the Great, of Pepin, of William, Earl of
Surrey, and of many other famous persons, who were
prayed for that they might receive the Holy Spirit ; but we
will close this chapter with an account of the decisions
of some of the more important church councils concern-
ing prayer for the Holy Spirit.

ANCIENT CHURCH COUNCILS ON THE FILLING OF THE

SPIRIT.

THE COUNCIL OF ELVIRA, in the fourth centttiy.
Canon 38, decreed concerning anyone baptized in time of
sickness, if he should recover: ''Let him be brought to
the bishop that he may be perfected by the imposition of
hands." The 77th Canon of the same Council says : " The
bishop must per^fect those (who have been baptized) by
his benediction."

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES 67

THE COUNCIL OF LAODICEA, in the fourth cen-
tury, in Canon 48, decreed: "All that are baptized must
be anointed with the celestial unction, and be partakers of
the kingdom of Christ."

THE FIRST COUNCIL OF ARLES, A. D. 314, de-
creed concerning the Arians, that they were not to be re-
bsqytized if they had been baptized in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but ""Let them be con-
firmed, let there be imposition of hands that they may re-
ceive the Holy Spirit." The Second Council of Aries, A.
D- 353» made a similar decree concerning Bonosiaci.

THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF CONSTANTI-
OPLE, A. D. 381, in Canon vii., explained how the church
received heretics, after anointing them with oil '' as a seal
of the gift of the Holy Ghost."

THE COUNCIL OF ORLEANS, in the sixth cen-
tury affirmed that he who was baptized could not be a
Christian, doubtless meaning a mature Christian, '"unless
he have the unction of episcopal confirmation."

In a late SYNOD OF SOURCES, curates were com-
manded to threaten all who were not confirmed, that they
should not be allowed to partake of the Lord's supper or
to marry.

THE SYNOD OF PARIS declared concerning con-
firmation, ** If there be an opportunity it must not be neg-
lected."

THE SYNOD OF SENS said concerning the attitude
of Christians toward confirmation: '"They are bound to
receive it, or at least not to despise it."

The ancient ritual known as THE ORDO ROMANUS,
probably belonging to the fifth century, says: ''We must
by all means take heed that the rite of confirmation be not
neglected, because in that every true baptism is ratified and
confirmed."

68 OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS, probably be-
longing to a period about the third century, in Book vii.,
Chapter 22, prescribe concerning the bishop or presbyter,
after baptizing the convert, " last of all> thou shalt sign
him with the holy chrism;" which means, with the anoint-
ing oil, as a symbol of the filling of the Spirit.

THE COUNCIL OF NEOCESAREA, about A. D.
314, and the COUNCIL OF ELVIRA, about A. D. 300,
both had canons which forbade the offices of a minister to
those who had not received the Holy Spirit by imposition
of hands.

THE SYNOD OF RHEMES, while admitting that a
person might be a Christian without confirmation, said,
'* Yet he receives more strength and grace for sustaining
and overcoming the temptations of the flesh, the world,
and the devil, only by the imposition of the bishop's
hands."

The laws of the Church of England in King Edgar's
time, about 967 A. D., Chapter 15, commanded " that none
should too long put off his being confirmed by the bishop."

REFORMED CHURCHES AND THE FILLING OF THE SPIRIT.

We have given abundant evidence to convince any
reasonable person that both the Eastern and Western
Churches, from apostolic times to the present, have prayed
for converts to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; although
the prayer has often been in a ritualistic, formalistic, and
purely ceremonial way. The ceremony of laying on of
hands in prayer for the Holy Spirit has been maintained
through all the centuries of the Christian era by the East-
cm churches and sects, and by the Roman Catholic church
and the early sects in the West. It was a quarrel con-
cerning the anointing oil used in this ceremony which led
to the division of the Catholic Churgh into the Eastern

OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES 69

Church and Western Church, which are now known as
the Greek Church and the Roman Catholic. For a long
period the Greeks obtained anointing oil blessed by the
bishop of Rome, who on account of Rome being the lead-
ing city of the world was rapidly coming to be recognized
as the pope, or father, of all the churches. But when the
Latins demanded four-score pounds of gold and some other
gifts in exchange for the anointing oil, the Greeks rejected
the authority of the bishop of Rome, and began to con-
secrate their own oil, and since that time the two great
churches have remained separate.

When infant baptism became common in the church,
infant confirmation and infant communion also became
common. In the time of St. Augustine infants received
both confirmation and communion after baptism. But they
often vomited the wine and bread of the communion, which
were forced into their mouths, and this led the Roman
Catholic Church to stop the practise of infant communion,
although it is still the rule and practise of the Greek
Church. Both the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches
decided that it would be better not to continue the prac-
tise of confirming little infants, and both those great
churches now wait until children have reached the age of
accountability before confirming them. ,

The Protestant Churches, formed during and since the
great Protestant Reformation, are divided with regard to
the practise of confirmation. The Lutheran and Church of
England retained the practise, while most of the other
Protestant churches rejected it as an empty form, or cere-
mony, and adopted nothing in its place. Calvin, the great
reformer, acknowledged that the custom of praying for
converts to be filled with the Spirit was derived from the
s^stles, and that the Protestant churches ought to have
something in the place of it, and yet he seems to have

TO OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES

made but little effort to impress the need of it upon the
churches with which he had a greater influence than had
any other man. In his Commentaries, commenting on He-
brews vi. 2, he says, with regard to the laying on of hands
in prayer for the Holy Spirit: "This one passage abun-
dantly testifies that this rite had its banning from the
Apostles, which afterwards, however, was turned into
superstition, as the world almost always degenerates into
corruptions. . . . Wherefore the pure institution at
this day ought to be retained, but the superstition ought to
be removed." The Quietist movement in the Roman
Catholic Church, which centered around the great French*
woman, Madam Guyon, and the Quaker movement among
Protestants, were two great and sincere efforts to make the
Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches feel the need of
being filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit. Both these
great spiritual movements have had a tremendous influ-
ence for good in deepening the spiritual life of the churches.
Although a firm believer in the outward ordinances of bap-
tism and the Lord's supper, the writer cannot but believe
that the Lord raised up the Quakers to call the churches
away from dependence on outward forms and ceremonies,
and to emphasize the thought that ** The kingdom of God
is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and
joy in the Holy Ghost " (Rom. 14: 17). After the Quaker,
or Friends' movement, came the great Methodist move-
ment. Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement,
made a great effort to restore the Bible doctrine of prayer
for the Holy Spirit under the name of sanctification. At
one time during the life of Wesley, or so he states in his
Journals, almost as many people were seeking and claim*
ing entire sanctification as were claiming salvation in con-
nection with the meetings of the Methodist societies.

GiROLAMo Savonarola

GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

Girolatno Savonarola, of Italy, was one of the greatest
reformers^ preachersi prophets, politicians^ and philoso-
pers the world has ever known* His public career as a
preadier bq;an the same year that Luther was bom ; and if
the sail of Italy had been as congenial as that of Germany
to a Protestant Reformation, he instead of Luther might
have been the instrument in bringing about that reforma-
tioa« As it was, Savonarola was the precursor of the
Protestant Reformation. By his terrific denunciation of
the corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church, he pre-
pared all Europe for the Reformation. His life and teach-
ings had a great influence upon Luther, who acknowledged
his inddl>tedness to him, and spoke of him as '* a Protestant
martyr.'' Not only was Savonarola the herald of the com-
ing refmtnation, but he did more than any other man to
rescue mankind from the abyss of skepticism and corrup-
tion into which the world had been plunged by the ex-
ample of the most degraded and dissolute church which
ever bore the name of Christian. Great as her sins and
crimes have been, never before the days of the Spanish
Inquisition was the Roman Catholic Church so utterly vile
and corrupt as in the fifteenth century, when those mon-
strous criminals the Borgias reigned as popes and cardinals.
By his powerful preaching, his profound philosophy, and
by the Divine unction resting upon him, Savonarola con^
vinced the masses that religion was not all sham and for-

73

74 GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

malism, and a new day dawned for Qiristianity and for
the world.

Bom in Ferrara, Italy, September 14, 1452, Savonarola
was the third in a family of seven children — ^five sons and
two daughters. His parents were cultured but worldly
people, of moderate circumstances but having great influ-
ence at the court of the Duke of Ferrara. His paternal
grandfather, who had the training of Girolamo during his
earlier years, was an eminent physician at the court of the
Duke, and Girolamo's parents intended him to follow the
same profession and to become his grandfather's successor.
But God had chosen another calling for the youth. From
his infancy Girolamo had been quiet and retiring. As a
child he was neither pretty nor playful, but serious and
subdued. At an early age he became a very diligent stu-
dent, and he afterwards attained great proficiency in the
liberal arts and in philosophy. He was an earnest student
of Aristotle but the writings of the great Greek philosopher
left the deepest longings of his soul unsatisfied. The phil«
osophy of Plato gave him a little more satisfaction; but it
was not until he began to study the writings of the great
Christian philosopher Saint Thomas Aquinas that he found
real food for his soul. It was doubtless the writings of
that celebrated saint which led Savonarola, at a very early
age, to yield his whole heart and life to God; and the
writings of St. Thomas Aquinas probably continued to in-
fluence his life more than any other writings except the
Scriptures. He says concerning his visions, " They came
to me in earliest youth, but it was only at Brescia that I
began to proclaim them. Thence was I sent by the Lord
to Florence, which is in the heart of Italy, in order that
the reform of Italy might begin." As a boy his devotion
and fervor increased as he grew older, and he spent many
hours in prayer and fasting. He would kneel in church

GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA 7S

for hours at a time engaged in prayer. He was very con-
templative, and his soul was deeply stirred by the vice and
worldliness he saw on every hand. The luxury, splendor,
and wealth displayed by the rich and the awful poverty of
the poor weighed heavily on his heart. Italy was the prey
of petty tyrants and wicked priests, and dukes and popes
vied with each other in lewdness, lavishness, and cruelty.
These things brought great sorrow to his young soul whidi
was burning for virtue and truth. Some of the rough im-
passioned verses of his youth show how deeply bis soul
was stirred by the evils he saw all around him. Thus, in
one of his earliest poems, he speaks of,

" Seeing the whole world overset ;

All virtue and goodness disappeared;

Nowhere ? shining light;

No one taking shame for his sins."
This profound appreciation of the evils around him made
Savonarola a sad and sorrowful youth. He talked little,
and kept himself retired and solitary. He loved to be in
lonely places, in the open fields, or along the green banks
of the river Po, and there wandering, sometimes singing,
sometimes weeping, he gave utterance to the strong emo-
tions which boiled in his breast. His great soulful eyes
were resplendent, and the color of the heavens, but they
were often filled with tears. Prayer was his one great
solace, and his tears would often bedew the altar steps,
where stretched prostrate for hours at a time, he be-
sought aid from heaven against the vile, corrupt, and dis-
solute age. At one time, in the midst of his deep musings,
there came a brief period, so the historians say, when he
fell in love with a young Florentine maiden, and began to
take a more cheerful view of things in general; but the
affair ended in the maiden scornfully rejecting him, because
she belonged to the proud Strozzi family and considered

76 GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

that Savonarola's family was not exalted enough to mate
with hers. He resented her arrogance and sought her hand
no more. After this little episode of happy delusion, when
the magical mist and glamour of love almost blinded him
for a time to the evils around him, the mists were dispelled
and Savonarola again saw clearly the corruption abounding
on every hand. Religious desires again took complete pos-
session of his soul, and his prayers were uttered with daily
increasing fervor. Disgusted with the world, disappointed
in his personal hopes, finding no one to S}rmpathize with
his feelings, and weary with the sight of constant wrongs
and evils which he could not remedy, he decided to enter
the monastic life.

It was on April 24, 1475, while his relatives were all
away celebrating the festival of St George, that Girolamo
stole away across the sunny plain to Bolonga, and applied
for admittance to the Dominican convent. The fact that
his favorite writer, St. Thomas Aquinas, was a Dominican,
probably influenced him to enter that order. He did not
ask to become a monk, but only to be a drudge and to do
the most menial services in the kitchen, garden, and mon-
astery. He was accepted, and. as soon as he reached his
cell he wrote an affectionate letter to his home explaining
why he entered the monastery, and begging his parents to
forgive him and give him tiieir blessing. He had left be-
hind him at home a paper entitled ''Contempt of the
World," in which he described the condition of things as
similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Even at this time
he seems to have had a presentiment that some day God
would use him mightily in calling men to repentance.

In the monastery of St. Dominic Savonarola fasted and
prayed, and led a silent life, and became increasingly ab-
sorbed in spiritual contemplation. His modesty, humility,
and obedience surpassed that of all the others. Soon after

GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA 77

he entered the monastery he was made lecturer on phil-
osophy to the convent, which position he held during the
remainder of the years that he spent there. During this
time his fury and indignation against the sins of the Church
increased so much that he longed to denounce them, and
did so in a poem on ''The Ruin of the Church."

In 1481, after spending seven years in the monastery
at Bolonga, Fra (Brother) Girolamo went to the convent
of St. Mark's in Florence, the most beautiful and cultured
dty in Italy, and the city where he was to become famous.
The modem world was then just coming into being, and
found its best expression in the great Italian Renaissance
of which the De Medici, who ruled Florence, were the
principal patrons. The Renaissance, or revival of learning,
had affected Florence more than any other dty. The De
Media had done much to make it a learned and cultured
dty, and most of the people knew Greek and Latin and
could read the dassics. Savonarola had high ideas concern-
ing the culture and refinement of Florence, and expected
to find the Florentines leading purer and nobler lives than
those of other cities; but his hopes were doomed to dis-
appointment. He had yet to learn that only faith in God
will save people from sin. Florence was indeed beautiful
outwardly, situated as it was in the midst of a rich and
verdant valley blossoming with flowers. But Savonarola
soon found that beneath their veneer of learning the people
were utterly corrupt, and that they were given over to
shows, festivals, worldly display, and entertainments. They
were dissolute, sdfish, pleasure-loving, and had but little
thought about God or spiritual things.

Next year after entering the convent of St Mark's, in
Florence, Savonarola was made instructor of the novices,
and he was finally raised to the rank of preacher in the
monastery. Although the monastery had a splendid library.

78 GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

Savonarola came more and more to use the Bible as his
text-book. He was filled with a sense of approaching judg-
ment, terror, and the vengeance of God ; and when he was
sent to preach in the neighboring towns he sometimes gave
vent to these feelings. In Brescia, San Geminiano, and
Florence he thundered frcrni the pulpit a thousand woes
against the wicked, but his sermons made scarcely any im-
pression. The cultured people of Florence took little heed
of the Lcxnbard monk, whose accents were harsh and his
periods not daintly formed. In the Church of San Lor-
enzo, where Savonarola first preached in Florence, there
were not twenty-five people in the audience. He made a
somewhat deeper impression in the remote villages and
towns. His preaching had so little effect, however, he de-
cided to give up preaching and to confine himself to teach-
ing the novices ; but as God called Moses from the desert
where he had retired to feed sheep, so He called Savonarola
from •the monastery to preach.

In 1482 Savonarola was sent to Reggio d' Emilia, to
represent his convent in a Dominican chapter-general held
in that place. During the first day, while the monks were
discussing dogma, he remained silent. But on the second
day, when a question of discipline was brought up, he arose
and in powerful accents inveighed against the sins and cor-
ruption of the church and the clergy. His soul was at
white heat, and he spoke with an eloquence which made
a deep impression. Returning to Florence, he found it
impossible to refrain from preaching, and he began to de-
liver sermons at the little church of the Murate convent.
His sermons, however, still made but little impression on
the pleasure-loving Florentines. Fra Mariano, an Augus-
tinian monk, was preaching to immense crowds in the Great
Church of Santo Spirito, and the people preferred him to
Savonarola. He never rebuked them for their sins; but

GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA yg

entertained them with classical quotations, philosophy,
astronomy, and poetry; and the whole city was flocking to
hear him. This only strengthened the resolve of Savon-
arola to denounce the sins and vices of the age. '* These
verbal el^[ancies and ornaments will have to give way to
sound doctrine simply preached/' said he. In prayer and
meditation he waited upon God, and yearned for a direct
revelation from Him, and it was vouchsafed to him. One
day, while engaged in conversation with a nun, he suddenly
beheld in a vision the heavens opened, and all the future
calamities of the Church passed before his eyes; and he
seemed to hear a voice charging him to announce them to
the people. From that moment he was convinced of his
Divine mission, and was filled with a new unction and
power. His preaching was now with a voice of thunder,
and his denunciation of sin so terrific that the people who
listened to him sometimes went about the streets half -dazed,
bewildered, and speechless. His congregations were often
in tears, so that the whole church resounded with their sobs
and weeping. Men and women of every age and condition,
workmen, poets, philosophers, would burst into passionate
tears. Pico della Mirandola tells of a sermon of Savon-
arola's which '' made a cold shiver run down his back, and
made his hair stand on end." Savonarola's ardour for
prayer, his faith, and his devotion increased day by day.
His companion, Fra Sebastiano, of Brescia, says that
Savonarola, when engaged in prayer, frequently fell into a
trance, and was sometimes so transported by holy fervor
that he was obliged to retire to some solitary place. Some
of his biographers relate that on Christmas Eve, in the
year i486, Savonarola, while seated in the pulpit, re-
mained immovable for five hours, in an ecstasy, or trance,
and that his face seemed illuminated to all in the church,
and that this occurred several times afterward. Savonarola

8d GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

told his friend and biographer, the younger Pico delta
Mirandola, that on one occasion while meditating on the
text, " Blessed art Thou, O Lord ; teach me Thy statutes,"
he felt his mind illuminated, and all doubts left him, and
he felt more certainty of the things that were shown him
than a philosopher did of first principles.

In 1484 Savonarola was sent as Lenten preacher to the
little republic of San Gimignano. Here he preached with
such power that he returned to Florence with greater con-
fidence in his mission. He retained his post of lecturer to
the novices of St. Mark's until Lent of i486, when he was
sent to preach in various cities of Lombardy, especially in
Brescia. Everywhere he went his denunciations of sin
awakened much alarm, and his fame continued to spread
over Italy. He remained in Lombardy until January, 1489.
In a letter to his mother, describing his meetings in Lom-
bardy, he says : '' When I have to depart, men and women
shed tears, and hold my words in much esteem." In 1489
he returned to Florence, the Lord revealing to him that
great things awaited him there. He began to explain the
book of Revelation to the friars, in the garden of St
Mark's convent. But his fame had spread through Flor-
ence; and la}rmen begged for admittance to his lectures.
His congregations increased daily until he had to preach
from the pulpit of the church. The church was thronged
for the first service, and many stood or clung to the iron
gratings in order to see and hear the preacher. The voice
of Savonarola seemed to have an almost superhuman ef-
fect, and the audience was raised to a transport of ecstasy.
After that service all Florence spoke of Savonarola, and
even the most learned flocked to hear him. By Lent of
1491 San Marco Church had become too small to hold the
people, and Savonarola removed to the famous Duomo,
or cathedral church of Florence, where he remained dur-
iE^ titc remainder of the eight years which was the Umst,

GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA 8l

ms he predicted it would be, of his preaching in Florence.
The people were so anxious to hear him that they arose in
the middle of the nig^t, and waited for hours for the cathe-
dral doors to open. They came along the streets singing
and rejoicing and listened to the sermons with such in-
terest that when they were finished the people thought that
they had scarcely b^;un. Savonarola seemed to be swq»t
cmwards by a mi^t not his own, and carried his audiences
with him. Soon all Florence was at the feet of the great
preacher; and Lorenzo de Medici, the corrupt ruler of the
dty, was greatly alarmed. He tried by flattery and bribery,
by Areats and persuasion, to induce Savonarola to cease
denoondng the sins of the people, and especially his own
sins. But Savonarola continued his fearless preaching.
Then Lorenzo hired Fra Mariano, the once popular
preacher, to denounce Savonarola; but his eloquence and
liietoric had no effect on the people, and after preaching
one sermon against Savonarola he ceased his opposition.

When Lorenzo was opposing Savonarola, the fearless
preadier predicted that Lorenzo, the Pope, and the King of
Naples would all die within a year, and so it came to pass.
As Lorenzo de Medici lay dying, he thought of the wrongs
he had done, and he was in an agony to obtain pardon.
He did not look to his own priestly parasites or to Fra
Mariano for consolation ; but sent for Savonanda, the only
preadier who had dared to oppose him. Savonarola said
to the messenger, ''I am not the person he wants; we
should not agree ; and it is not expedient that I should go
to him.'* Lorenzo sent the messenger back, promising to
do everything that Savonarola required of him. Savon-
arola then went to the beautiful villa of Carregi, amid the
olive gardens, where Lorenzo lay dying. He was led into
the side chamber. ''Father," said Lorenzo, ''there are
three things whidi drag me back and throw me into despair.

S2 GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

and I know not if God will ever pardon me for them,^
These were the sack of Volterra, the robbery of the Monte
della FanciuUe, and the massacre of the Pazzi. Savonarola
replied, " Lorenzo, be not desponding, for God is merciful
and will be merciful to you, if you will do three things I
will tell you." " What are these three things? " asked Lor-
enzo. '' The first is that you should have a great and liv-
ing faith that God can and will pardon you," replied Savon-
arola. "This is a great thing, and I do believe it," said
Lorenzo. " It is also necessary that everything wrongfully
acquired should be given back by you, in so far as you can
do this and still leave to your children as much as will
maintain them as private citizens," continued Savonarola.
These words drove Lorenzo nearly beside himself, but he
finally said, " This also will I do." Savonarola then said,
** Lastly, it is necessary that f reedcmi, and popular gov-
ernment according to her republican usage, should be re-
stored to Florence." At this Lorenzo turned his back to
the wall and was silent ; and Savonarola went away without
absolving him.

A year and a half after Lorenzo's death, Charles VIIL,
King of France, invaded Italy, sacked Naples, and then ad-
vanced on Florence. Savonarola had long predicted that
God would send "a new Cyrus from across the Alps"
to punish the people for their sins, and in their extremity
the people flocked to the Duomo to hear what Savonarola
would say. He urged them to repent of their sins, and
went himself to meet the French king and to entreat him
to spare Florence. This Charles did very reluctantly, after
remaining for some time, and after Savonarola warned him
to leave Florence if he did not wish to incur the vengeance
of God. For some time the people of Florence debated
as to what kind of government they should adopt in the
place of that of the De Medici, which was overturned dur-

6IR0LAM0 SAVONAROLA 9$

ing the French invasion. They could come to no agree-
ment, and then Savonarola deemed it necessary to advise
them in his sermons. Through his advice they adopted
one of the most advanced and enlightened forms of demo-
cratic, or republican, government. A just form of taxa-
tion, abolition of torture, laws against usury and gambling,
a court of appeal, and abundant provision for the poor,
were some of the principal features. The laws and gov-
ernment of the Rorentine republic have served as a model
to all nations, and have had a mighty influence in shaping
the modem world.

The influence of Savonarola in Florence and Italy was
now greater than ever. The people of Florence abandoned
their vile and worldly books, and read Savonarola's ser-
mons. All prayed, went to church, and the rich gave freely
to the poor. Merchants restored ill-gotten gains amounting
to many florins. Even the hoodlums, or street gamins,
stopped singing ribald songs, and sang h3rmns instead. All
the people forsook the carnivals and vanities in which they
had indulged, and made huge bonfires of their masks, wigs,
worldly books, obscene pictures, and other things of the
kind. The children marched from house to house in pro-
cession, singing hymns, and collecting everything they
styled vanities. With these a great octangular pyramid
was built in the public square, or piazza. It was formed
in sevcw stages, and was 60 feet high and 240 feet in cir-
cumference at the base. A bonfire was made of this amidst
the singing of hymns and pealing of bells. This was in

1497-

But the triumph of Savonarola was short. During his

first sermon in Florence, he predicted that' he would only
preach there eight years. He also foretold his own martyr-
dom. Although people from all over Italy flocked to Flor^-
ence to hear him, until the great Duomo itself would not

84 GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

hold the crowds, his fearless sermons aroused the anger
of many, and especially of the corrupt pope, cardinals,
and priests. He was threatened, excommunicated, and
persecuted ; and finally, in 1498, by express order of Alex-
ander VI., one of the vilest of popes, he was burned to
death in the public square of Florence, the city he loved
so well. His last words were, "The Lord hath suffered
so much for me." Thus perished one of the world's great-
est saints and martyrs. His sermons and books on "Hu-
mility," "Pra)rer," "Love," and other devotional subjects
have continued to exert a very wide influence in the world.
Although he held to many of the superstitions of the Roman
Catholic Church, he was far in advance of the people of
his day, and he may almost be r^;arded as the first g^eat
Protestant reformer. He taught that all believers were in
the true church, and he continually fed upon the Word of
God. The margin of his Bible is covered with notes of
ideas which occurred to him while poring over its pages.
His sermons are often expositions of the Scriptures from
b^^ning to end, and it was claimed that there was not a
text to which he could not turn at a moment's notice. He
knew a great portion of the Bible by heart. He spent
whole nights in prayer, and while wrapped in a species of
ecstasy real visions and revelations seem to have been
vouchsafed to him. He foretold many important events,
and all his biographers have marvelled at the accuracy of
his prophecies.

In appearance .Savonarola was of medium height, of
dark complexion, and had a high forehead, an aquiline
nose, thick lips, and a large mouth. When preaching a
Divine light seemed to beam from his eyes and to illuminate
his face, his words flowed like a torrent, and he had a
voice like thunder. He was very fond of children.

\

MM>Ai« GvivoK

MADAM GUYON

Madam Guyon (pronounced Gay-yo), the celebrated
French Mystic, was one of the greatest Christian leaders
of all time. What Savonarola was to Italy » Madam Guyon
was to France. And not only was her influence felt
throughout her native land of France, but all over Europe,
and throughout the world. Fenelon, John Wesley, and
other great spiritual leaders have acknowledge that they
were greatly indebted to Madam Guyon for the deep spirit-
ual lessons learned from her life and writings. Although a
Roman Catholic, Madam Guyon very much resembled the
modem Quakers, or Friends, in her teachings. She has
been termed *'A Quaker bom out of due time;" and Dr.
J. Rendel Harris, one of the most eminent Friends, says,
" No society has been so influenced by Madam Guyon as
the Quakers have been." She was the center of the great
spiritual movement known as " Quietism," which was per-
haps the greatest spiritual movement ever originated within
the Roman Catholic Church. In its emphasis of the work
of the Holy Spirit, the " Quietist " movement very much
resembled the Quaker movement, and the original Friends
were often classed as "Quietists" on this account. The
name ** Quietist" refers to their quiet submission to the
will of God and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

As a girl Madam Guyon was religiously inclined, but
as a young woman she became a vain, proud^ society ** but-
terfly," with few thoughts about God or the world to come.

87

88 MADAM GUYON

Living in fashionable Paris as she was, in the corrupt and
profligate times of Louis XIV., it was very easy for her
to be carried away by the worldliness surrounding her.
The rule of Louis XIV., was perhaps the most pleasure-lov-
ing, corrupt, and dissolute which ever cursed the sunny land
of France; and the great talents and beauty of Madam
Guyon, or Mademoiselle De La Mothe as her maiden name
was, made her peculiarly susceptible to the influences of
fashionable society. But her proud heart was gradually
subdued by the destruction of her beauty through an at-
tack of small pox and by the loss of ever3rthing that was
dearest to her in this world. Her vanity and pride were
completely crushed out, and then she became " a vessel unto
honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use " (2 Tim.
2: 21). Perhaps of no other person except Job could it be
said as truly that they were made " perfect through suffer-
ings" (Heb. 2: 10), the sufferings of our Divine Saviour
not being considered as the sufferings of a htmian being.

Jeanne Marie Bouvieres de la Mothe was bom at Mon-
targis, France, about fifty miles north of Paris, on April
13, 1648, about a century after the beginning of the great
Protestant Reformation. Her parents belonged to the aris-
tocracy of France, were highly respected, and were relig-
iously inclined as were their forefathers for many genera-
tions. Her father bore the title of Seigneur, or Lord, de la
Mothe Vergonville. In infancy Jeanne was afflicted with
a complaint which caused her parents to despair of her life.
She rallied, however, and at the age of two years and a
half was placed in the Ursuline Seminary in her own town
to be educated by the nuns. After a short time she wa^
taken home, where she remained for some time, but her
mother left her chiefly to the care of the servants. During
this period her education was neglected.

MADAM GUYON 8^

In the year 165 1 the Duchess of Montbason came to
Montargis to reside with the Benedictine nuns established
there, and she asked Jeanne's father to allow his little
daughter, then four years of age, to keep her company.
While in the House of the Benedictines, thqugh earlier in
life she had some religious impressions, she was brought to
realize her need of a Saviour by a dream she had concern-
ing the future misery of impenitent sinners, and she def-
initely yielded her heart and life to God, and she even
vowed her willingness to become a martyr for God. The
nuns pretended that they thought God really wanted her
to become a martyr, and made her believe that they were
going to put her to death. She said her prayers, and then
they led her to a room prepared for the purpose, and
caused her to kneel on a doth they had spread. One of
the older girls then appeared as executioner and raised a
cutlass over her head. But at this critical moment Jeannie
cried out that she was not at liberty to die without her
father's permission. The nuns afterwards told her that
she was not willing to die for Christ, and that she had made
an excuse on that account. They made the little girl be-
lieve that she had denied the Lord, and it brought great
darkness over her mind. While with the Benedictines she
was generally treated kindly, but her health was very poor
and she was again taken to her home, and again left most
of the time in the care of the servants. Her two half-sis-
ters had entered the Ursuline Convent, and after she was
at home for a short period Jeannie returned to the Ursuline
Convent in order to be with them. She was then seven
years of age. Her fraternal half-sister took her under her
special care, and under her instruction Jeanne made rapid
progress in learning and piety.

When Jeanne was eight years of age, Henrietta Maria,
Queen of England, fled to her native land of France to take

go MADAM GUYON

refuge from the Civil War in England. She visited the

De La Mothe family, and was so diarmed by the learning

and beauty of little Jeanne that she entreated Lord De La

Mothe to allow her to take the child with her, promising

to make her Maid of Honor to the Princess, but Uie father

would not consent.

At ten years of age Jeanne was again taken home, but

in a short time she was placed in the Dominican Convent

at the request of the prioress, who seemed to have a great

affection for her. Here she remained eight months, and

made much improvement, though her health was very poor.

Here she found a Bible, which in some unknown way
had been left in her chamiber. Young as she was she

became deeply absorbed in reading it. ''I spent whole
days," she says, *' in reading it, giving no attention to other
books or other subjects from morning to night And hav-
ing great powers of recollection, I committed to memory
the historical parts entirely." This study of the Scriptures
doubtless laid the foundations of her wonderful life of
devotion and piety. After eight months in the Dominican
Convent she returned to her home. She purposed to take
the sacrament at twelve years of age, but for some time
previous she had been very remiss in her religious duties.
A feeling of melancholy entered her mind, and she gave up
what religious profession and practises she had. Later in
life she intimated that her religion at that time was chiefly
in appearance, and that the love of God was not at the bot-
tom of it. Her father again placed her in the Ursuline
Seminary, and through the influence of her pious and
prayerful half-sister she was led to think of ''giving her-
self to God in good earnest." She partook of the sacra-
ment, but still her heart was not reached.

She grew tall, and her features b^;an to develop into
that beauty which afterwards distinguished her. Her

MADAM GOYOn fi

mother, pkased with her appearance, indulged her in dress.
The world gained full sway over her, and Christ was al-
most forgotten. Such changes frequently occurred in her
eariy experience. Today she had serious thoughts and good
resolutions, and next day they were shatter^ and gaiety
and worldliness filled her life.

A devout young man, a cousin of hers, named De Tossi,
was going as a missionary to Cochin China, and in passing
through Montargis called to see the family. His visit was
short, but it made a deep impression on Jeanne, although
she was out walking at the time and did not see him. When
told of his sanctity and consecration, her heart was so
toudied that she cried all the rest of the day and all night.
She was touched by the thought of the contrast between
her own worldly life and the pious life of her cousin. Her
whcde soul was now aroused to a sense of her true spiritual
condition. She tried to give up her worldliness, to bring
herself into a religious frame of mind, and to obtain for-
giveness of all those whom she had wronged in any way.
She visited the poor, gave them food and clothing, and
taught them the catechism, and spent much time in private
reading and prayer. She read devotional books like the
Life of Madam de Chantal, and the works of Thomas a
Kempis and Francis de Sales. She even thought of be-
coming a nun. But she had not yet learned the lesson of
finding peace and rest of soul through faith in Christ. Per-
haps God allowed her to go through many struggles and
trials to find salvation that she might be the better fitted to
teach others the way of salvation through faith after she
herself discovered it.

After about a year spent in earnest seeking after God,
she fell deeply in love with a young man, a near relative
of hers, though she was only fourteen years of age. Her
mind was so occupied with thoughts of him that she neg-

ga MADAM GUYON

lected prayer, and began to seek in him the pleasure she
had formerly sought in God. She still kept up religious
appearances, but in her heart religion became a matter of
indifference. She read romances, spent much time before
the mirror, and became very vain. The world thought
highly of her, but her heart was not right with God.

In the year 1663 the La Mothe family moved to Paris,
a step not calculated to benefit them spiritually. Paris was
a gay, worldly, pleasure-loving city, especially in the reign
of Louis XIV., and Madamoiselle La Mothe's vanity
swelled and increased, and she and her parents were led
into worldliness by the society in which they now found
themselves. The world now seemed to her the one object
worth conquering and possessing. Her beauty, intellect, and
brilliant powers of conversation made her a favorite of
Paris society. Her future husband, M. Jaques Guyon, a
man of great wealth, and numerous others, sought her hand
in marriage.

Although she had no great affection for M. Guyon, her
father arranged the marriage, and she yielded to his wish*
The wedding took place in 1664. Jeanne had nearly com-
pleted her sixteenth year, while her husband was thirty-
eight. She soon discovered that the home to which he took
her would be " a house of mourning " to her. Her mother-
in-law, a woman without education or refinement, governed
it with a rod of iron. Her husband had good qualities, and
had considerable affection for her, but physical infirmities
and sufferings to which he was subject, the great difference
between his age and that of his young wife, and the temper
of her mother-in-law, made life a burden to the young bride.
Her great intellect and sensibilities made her sufferings all
the more keen. Her earthly hopes were blasted. She did
not know that God had permitted her to be placed under
such circumstances for a purpose, nor did she realize His

MADAM GUYON 99

power to alter those circumstances whenever it suited His
purposes to do so. But she afterwards believed that every-
thing had been ordered in mercy to call her from her life
of pride and worldliness. God seems to have allowed her
to go through the furnace fire of affliction that the dross
might be purged out, and that she might come forth a ves-
sel of pure gold. '' Such was the strength of my natural
pride/' says she, ''that nothing but some dispensation of
sorrow would have broken down my spirit, and turned me
to God." Later, she says : " Thou hast ordered these things,
O my God, for my salvation! In goodness Thou hast af-
:flicted me. Enlightened by the result, I have since clearly
seen, that these dealings of Thy providence were necessary,
in order to make me die to my vain and haughty nature.'*
Although she ate the bread of sorrow, and mingled her
drink with her tears, all these things inclined her mind
towards God, and she began to look to Him for comfort
in her sorrow. About a year after her marriage a little
son was bom to her, and then she felt the need of looking
to God for his sake as well as for her own.

One calamity after another now befell Madam Guyon.
Soon after the birth of her son her husband lost a great
part of his enormous wealth, and this greatly embittered her
avaricious mother-in-law. In the second year of her mar-
riage she fell sick, and it seemed that she would die, but
her sickness was a means of causing her to think more of
spiritual things. Her beloved half sister died, and then
her mother also. Great as these trials were, they worked
for her " a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory "
(2 G)r. 4: 17). Bitterly had she learned that she could
find rest nowhere except in God, and she now sought Him
in earnest and found Him, and never again did she forsake
Him.

94 MADAM GUYON

From the works of A Kempis, De Sales, and the life
of Madam Chantal, and from her conversations with a pious
English lady. Madam Giiyon had learned much about spir-
itual things. After an absence of four years, her cousin
returned from Cochin China, and his visit was a great help
to her spiritually. A humble Franciscan monk felt led of
God to visit her home, and he also helped her much in
spiritual things. It was this Franciscan who first led her
to see clearly the need of seeking Christ through faith,
and not through outward works alone as she had been do-
ing. Through his instruction she was led to see that true
religion was a matter of the heart and soul, rather than
a mere routine of ceremonial duties and observances as
she had supposed. With regard to certain words spoken
by this Franciscan, concerning salvation through faith, she
says: '^ Having said these words, the Franciscan left me.
They were to me like the stroke of a dart, which pierced
my heart asunder. I felt at this instant deeply wounded
with the love of God — sl wound so delightful that I desired
it never might be healed. These words brought into my
heart what I had been seeking so many years; or rather
they made me discover what was there, and which I did
not enjoy for want of knowing it." Later, she says: *'I
told this good man, that I did not know what he had done
to me; that my heart was quite changed; that God was
there; for from that moment He had given me an exper-
ience of His presence in my soul — ^not merely as an object
intellectually perceived by the application of the mind, but
as a thing really possessed after the sweetest manner.
I experienced those words in the Canticles : * Thy name is
as a precious ointment poured forth ; therefore do the vir-
gins love Thee.' For I felt in my soul an unction, which,
as a salutary perfume healed in a moment all my wounds.
I slept not all that night, because Thy love, O my God!

MADAM GUYON n

flowed in me like delicious oil, and burned as a fire which
was going to destroy all that was left of self in an instant.
I was all on a sudden so altered, that I was hardly to be
known either to myself or others/'

Madam Guyon was« twenty years of age when she re-
ceived this definite assurance of salvation through faith in
Christ It was on July 22, 1668. After this experience,
she says: ^'Nothing was more easy to me now than to
practise prayer. Hours passed away like moments, while
I could hardly do anything else but pray. The fervency
of my love allowed me no intermission. It was a prayer
of rejoicing and of possession, wherein the taste of God
was so great, so pure, so unblended and uninterrupted, that
it drew and absorbed the powers of the soul into a profound
recollection, a state of confiding and afiFectionate rest in
God, existing without intellectual effort.'' Some time later
she said to the Franciscan, '' I love God far more than
the most affectionate lover among men loves the object of
his earthly attachment" ''This love of God," says she,
''occupied my heart so constantly and strongly, that it
was very difficult for me to think of anything else. Noth-
ing else seemed worth attention." Later she says : " I bade
farewell forever to assemblies which I had visited, to plays
and diversions, to dancing, to unprofitable walks, and to
parties of pleasure. The amusements and pleasures which
are so much prized and esteemed by the world now ap-
peared to me dull and insipid — ^so much so, that I wond-
ered how I ever could have enjoyed them."

A second son was bom to Madam Guyon in 1667, or a
year before she was led into the above remarkable ex-
perience; and her time was now occupied in caring for
her children, and in visiting and ministering to the poor
and needy. She caused many beautiful but poor young
girls to be taught a trade, so that they would have less

g6 MADAM GUYON

temptation to lead a life of sin. She also did much to
rescue those who had already fallen into sin. With her
means she often assisted poor tradesmen and mechanics to
get a start in business. But she did not neglect prayer.
She says : '' So strong, almost insatiable, was my desire
for communion with God that I arose at four o'clock to
pray." Prayer was the greatest pleasure of her life.
Worldly people were astonished to see one so young, so
beautiful, and so intellectual, wholly given up to God.
Pleasure-loving society felt condemned by her life, and
sought to persecute and ridicule her. Even her own rel-
atives did not enter fully into her feelings, and her avar-
icious mother-in-law sought to make her life more miser-
able than ever and succeeded to some extent in alienating
the affections of her husband and of her eldest son. But
trials did not trouble her now as they did formerly, as
she now regarded them as permitted of the Lord to keep
her humble. A third child, a daughter, was bom to her
in 1669. This little girl was a great comfort to her, but
was destined soon to leave her.

For about two years Madam Guyon's religious exper-
ience continued to be a mountain-top one, and then she
was drawn away to some extent into worldly conformity.
On a visit to Paris she neglected prayer too much, and
conformed too much to the worldly society with whom she
formerly associated. Realizing this, she hastened away to
her home, outside of Paris, and her anguish for her short-
comings " was like a consuming fire." During a journey
through many parts of France with her husband, in 1670,
she also felt many temptations to the old life of worldly
pleasure. Her sorrow was so great that she even felt that
she would be glad if the Lord, by some sudden stroke of
His providence, should take her, out of this world of temp-
tation and sin. Her chief temptations were on the line of

MADAM GUYON 97

worldly dress and conversation. But the reproaches of her
ixmscience were like a fire burning within her, and the sense
of her short-comings filled her with bitterness and tears.
For three months she did not enjoy her former com-
munion with God. As a result her mind was turned to
the question of holy living. She yearned for some one to
instruct her how to live a more spiritual life, how to have
a closer walk with God, and how to be *' more than con-
queror " over the world, the fiesh, and the devil. Although
these were the days of Nicole and Amauld, of Pascal and
Racine, Christians of deep spiritual insight were scarce
m France. But in Genevieve Grainger, a Benedictine
prioress, Madam Guyon found a friend who helped her
much in spiritual things. As already mentioned, she also
obtained much spiritual help from reading the works of
A Kempis, Francis de Sales, and the life of Madam
Chantal. One day as she was walking across one of the
bridges of the River Seine, in Paris, accompanied by her
footman, on her way to Notre Dame Church, a poor man
in religious garb suddenly joined them and entered into
religious conversation. ''This man," says she, "spoke to
me in a wonderful manner of God and divine things." He
seemed to know all about her history, her virtues, and her
faults. " He gave me to understand," says she, " that God
required not merely a heart of which it could only be said
it is forgiven, but a heart which could properly, and in
some real sense, be designated as holy, that it was not suf-
ficient to escape hell, but that He demanded also the sub-
jection of the evils of our nature, and the utmost purity
and height of Christian attainment." Concerning the ef-
fect of this conversation Madam Guyon says : '' The Spirit
of God bare witness to what he said. The words of this
remarkable man, whom I never saw before, and whom I
have never seen since, penetrated my very soul. Deeply

^ MADAM GUYON

affected and overcome by what he had said, I had no
sooner reached the church than I fainted away." Having
already felt her weakness and her need of a deeper spirit-
ual experience, and having received so direct a message
through the providence of God, Madam Guyon resolved
that day, before leaving the church, to give herself to the
Lord anew. Taught by sad experience the impossibility
of serving both God and the world, she resolved : " From
this day, this hour, if it be possible, I will be wholly the
Lord's. The world shall have no portion in me.'' Two
years later she drew up and signed her historic Covenant
of Consecration; but the real consecration seems to have
been completed that day when she visited Notre Dame
Church. She yielded herself without reserve to the will
of God, and almost immediately her consecration was
tested by a series of overwhelming afflictions which served
to purge out the dross that was in her nature. Her idols
were destroyed one after the other until all her hopes and
joys and ambitions were centered in the Lord, and then
He b^;an to use her mightily in the building up of His
kingdom. Her beauty had been the greatest cause of her
pride and worldly conformity, and that was the first of her
idols to be smitten. On October 4, 1670, when she was
little more than twenty-two years of age, the blow came
upon her like lightning from heaven. She was stricken
with the small-pox, in a most virulent form, and to a very
great extent her beauty was destroyed^ '* But the devasta-
tion without was counterbalanced by peace within," says
she. ** My soul was kept in a state of contentment, greater
than can be expressed. Reminded continually of one of
the causes of my religious trials and falls, I indulged the
hope of r^faining my inward liberty by the loss of that
outward beauty which had been my grief. This view of
my condition rendered my soul so well satisfied and so

MADAM GUYON 99

tmited to God, that it would not have exchanged its con-
dition for that of the most happy prince in the world/'
Everyone thought that she would be inconsolable. But she
says : '^ As I lay in my bed, suffering the total deprivation
of that which had been a snare to my pride, I experienced
a joy unspeakable. I praised God with profound silence.''
She also says: " When I was so far recovered as to be able
to sit up in my bed, I ordered a mirror to be brought, and
indulged my curiosity so far as to view myself in it. I
was no longer what I was once. It was then I saw my
heavenly Father had not been unfaithful in His work, but
haci ordered the sacrifice in all reality." The next of her
most loved idols to be removed was her youngest son, to
whom she was most fondly attached. ''This blow," says
she, '* struck me to the heart. I was overwhelmed ; but God
gave me strength in my weakness. I loved my young hoy
tenderly ; but though I was greatly afflicted at his death, I
saw the hand of the Lord so clearly, that I shed no tears.
I offered him up to God ; and said in the language of Job,
' The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. . Blessed
be His name.' In 1672 her beloved father died, and her
beautiful little three year old daughter died the same year.
The death of her friend and counsellor, Genevieve Grain-
ger, followed soon after, so that she no longer had any arm
of flesh to lean upon in her spiritual trials and difficulties.
In 1676 her husband, who had become reconciled to her,
was taken away in death. like Job, she lost everything
that was dearest in this world; but she believed that the
Lord allowed all these things for the humbling of her proud
heart and will. She saw the hand of Gokl so clearly in
them that she exclaimed: "Oh, adorable conduct of my
God I There must be no guide, no prop for the person
whom Thou art leading into the regions of darkness and
death. There must be no conductor, no support to the

100 MADAM GUYON

man whom Thou art determined to destroy to the entire
destruction of the natural life.'' By the *' destruction of
the natural life" she meant the destruction of carnality
and selfishness.

Great as were the trials already mentioned, Madam
Guyon had yet to pass through one of her greatest and
most prolonged trials. In 1674 she entered upon what she
afterwards called her "state of privation, or desolation,"
which lasted for seven years. During all that period she
was without religious joy, peace, or emotions of any kind,
and she had to walk by faith alone. She continued her
devotions and her works of charity, but without the pleas-
ure and satisfaction she had previously felt. She seemed
to be left without God, and she made the mistake of imag-
ining that God had really forsaken her. She had yet to
learn how to walk by faith instead of by feeling. True
joy and peace come from living by faith, without regard
to feelings. We are filled with all joy and peace in be-
lieving (Rom. 15: 13). But when we look at our feelings
and take our eyes off the Lord, then all true joy and peace
leave us. Madam Guyon seems to have made this great
mistake, and for seven years she kept looking for feelings
and emotions before she learned to live above feelings and
by simple faith in God. Then she found that the life of
faith is much higher, holier, and happier than the life
governed by feelings and emotions. She had been think-
ing more about her emotions than about the Lord, more
about the gift than the Giver; but at last her faith rose
triumphantly above circumstances and feelings.

Almost seven years after she lost her joy and emotion,
she began to correspond with Father La Combe, an eminent
Superior of the Bamabite order whom she had been the
means of leading into the light of salvation through faith
some years previously. He was now the instrument of

MADAM CUYON loi

leading her out into the clear light and sunshine of Chris-
tian experience. He showed her that God had not for-
saken her as she was so often tempted to believe, but that
He was crucifying the self life in her. The light began
to dawn upon her, and gradually the darkness was driven
away. She appointed the 22d of July, 1680, as a day in
which Father La Combe should pray especially for her if
her letter should reach him in time, Although he was a
long way off, her letter providentially reached him in time,
and both he and Madam Guyon spent the day in fasting
and prayer. It was a day long to be remembered in her
history. God heard and answered their prayers. The
clouds of darkness lifted from her soul, and floods of
glory took their place. The Holy Spirit opened her eyes
to see that her afflictions were God's mercies in disguise.
They were like the dark tunnels which are short cuts
through mountains of difficulties into the valleys of bless-
ing beyond. They were God's chariots bearing her up-
wards toward heaven. The vessel had been purified and
fitted for His abode, and the Spirit of God, the heavenly
Comforter, now took up His abode in her heart. Her
whole soul was now flooded with His glory, and everything
seemed full of joy. She describes her experience as fol-
lows : " On the 22d of July, 1680, that happy day, my soul
was delivered from all its pains. From the time of the
first letter from Father La Combe I began to recover a
new life. I was then indeed, only like a dead person raised
up, who is in the beginning of his restoration, and raised
up to a life of hope rather than of actual possession; but
on this day I was restored, as it were, to perfect life,. and
set wholly at liberty. I was no longer depressed, no longer
borne down under the burden of sorrow. I had thought
God lost, and lost forever ; but I found Him again. And

108 MADAM GUYON

He returned to me with unspeakable magnificence and
purity.

" In a wonderful manner, difficult to explain, all that
which had been taken from me, was not only restored, but
restored with increase and new advantages. In Thee, O
my God, I found it all, and more than all I The peace I
now possessed was all holy, heavenly, inexpressible. What
I had possessed some years before, in the period of my
spiritual enjoyment, was consolation, peace — ^the gift of
God rather than the Giver; but now, I was brought into
such harmony with the will of God, that I might now be
said to possess not merely consolation, but the God of con-
solation; not merely peace, but the God of peace. This
true peace of mind was worth all that I had undergone, al-
though it was only in its dawning."

In Torrents, describing the experience she now enjoyed,
she says : " 1 had a deep peace which seemed to pervade
the whole soul, and resulted from the fact that all my de-
sires were fulfilled in God. I feared nothing; that is, con-
sidered in its ultimate results and relations, because my
strong faith placed God at the head of all perplexities and
events. I desired nothing but what I now had, because I
had full belief that, in my present state of mind, the re-
sults of each moment constituted the fulfilment of the Di-
vine purposes. As a sanctified heart is always in harmony
with the Divine providences, I had no will but the Divine
will, of which such providences are the true and appro-
priate expression."

In another place she says : " One characteristic of this
higher degree of experience was a sense of inward purity.
My mind had such a oneness with God, such a unity with
the Divine nature, that nothing seemed to have power to
soil it and to diminish its purity. It experienced the truth
of that declaration of Scripture, 'to the pure all things

MADAM GVYON XQ3

are pure/ " Again, she says : ** From this titne, I found
myself in the enjoyment of liberty. My mind experienced
a remarkable facility in doing and suffering everything
which presented itself in the order of God's providence.
God's order became its law."

Madam Guyon's life was now characterized by great
simplicity and power. After she had found the way of sal-
vation through faith, she was the means of leading many in
France into the experience of conversion, or regeneration.
And now, since she had received a deeper, richer, fuller
experience herself, she began to lead many others into the
experience of sanctification through faith, or into an exper-
ience of " victory over the self life," or " death to the self
life/' as she was fond of calling it. Her soul was all ablaze
with the unctbn and power of the Holy Spirit, and every-
where she went she was besieged by multitudes of hungry,
thirsty, souls, who flocked to her for the spiritual meat that
they failed to get from their regular pastors. Revivals of
religion hega^n in almost every place visited by her, and all
over France earnest Christians began to seek the deeper
experience taught by her. Father La Combe began to
spread the doctrine with great unction and power. Then
the great Archbishop Fenelon was led into a deeper exper-
ience through the prayers of Madam Guyon, and he too be-
gan to spread the teaching all over France. So many were
led to renounce their worldliness and sinfulness, and to con-
secrate their lives wholly to God, that worldly priests and
professors felt condemned. They then began to persecute
Madam Guyon, Father La Combe, Fenelon, and all who
held the doctrine of " pure love," or " entire death to the
self life." Father La Combe was thrown into prison, and
so cruelly tortured that his reason became affected. Finally
the corrupt and dissolute King, Louis XIV., imprisoned
Madam Guyon in the Convent of St. Marie. But she had

IG4 MADAM GUYON

learned how to suffer, and she bore her persecutions pa-
tiently, and grew stronger and stronger spiritually. Her
time in prison was spent in prayer, praise, and writing, al-
though she was sick part of the time because of the poor air
and on account of other inconveniences in her little cell.
After eight months in prison her friends secured her re-
lease. Her enemies tried to poison her while she was in
prison, and she suffered seven years from the effects of the
poison. Her writings were now sold and read all over
France, and in many other parts of Europe, and in this way
multitudes were brought to Christ and into a deeper spirit-
ual experience through her teachings. In 1695 she was
again imprisoned by order of the King, and this time was
placed in the Castle of Vincennes. The following year she
was transferred to a prison at Vaugiard. In 1698 she was
placed in a dungeon in the Bastile, the historic and dreaded
prison of Paris. For four years she was in this dungeon,
but so great was her faith in God, her prison seemed like a
palace to her. In 1702 she was banished to Blois, where she
spent the remainder of her life in her Master's service. She
died in perfect peace, and without a cloud on the fulness of
her hopes and joy, in the year 17 17, at 69 years of age.

Madam Guyon left behind her about sixty volumes of
her writings. Many of her sweetest poems, and some 6i her
most helpful books, were written during her imprisonment.
Some of her poems were translated into English by the poet
Cowper. Some of her hymns are very popular, and her
writings have been a mighty influence for good in this world
of sin and sorrow. Perhaps her own Christian experience
is best described in the following words from her own pen:
" To me remains nor place nor time ;
My country is in every clime ;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore since God is there.'*

«-J-s

Fbnelon

FENELON

For piety, and talent, and real saintliness of character,
few names have ranked so ];iigh as that of Fenelon, the
celebrated Archbishop of Cambray, or Cambrai, in France.
Although the Pope, the King of France, and the greatest
literary genius of the period combined and conspired to
ruin Fenelon, his sweet Qiristian spirit and commanding
genius triumphed over all and made him one of the most
loved of men. Not only in France but throughout the
world, his name is today a household synon3rm for piety.
Francois de Salignac de la Mothe Fenelon was of noble
birth. He was a younger son of Count Pons de Salignac,
a Gascon nobleman, and was bom in the Castle of Fene-
lon, in Pcrigord, France, in 1651. He was carefully trained
at home until twelve years of age, when he was sent to
the University of Cahors, and afterwards to the College
of Plessis at Paris. His mind was very early turned to
the subject of religion, and at the age of fifteen he preached
his first sermon. His theological studies were continued
at the Seminary of Saint Sulpice, the Principal of which
was the celebrated and pious Abbe Tronson, a man re-
nowned for his piety, talents, and learning. Francois be-
came a favorite pupil of Tronson's, who gave him the
most careful intellectual and spiritual training. From
Tronson, who is often classed among the great Mystics,
he doubtless imbibed many of the views concerning in-
ward Christian experience and real consecration to God

io8 FENELON

which afterward made him so eminent a champion and ex-
ponent of the higher Christian life. In 1675, at the age
of twenty-four, he was ordained a priest, and for three
years he ministered in the parish of St. Sulpice. Before
his ordination he was strongly inclined to go as a mis-
sionary to Canada or to the Levant, but his uncle kept
him from doing so, although he seems to have visited
Canada for a brief period.

Early in life Fenelon's remarkable genius and talents
began to display themselves in devotional, philosophical,
and educational books and writings. Some of his books
on educational subjects are greatly prized even at the pres-
ent time. The King of France, Louis XIV., was so at-
tracted by the qualifications of Fenelon that in 1689 ^^ ^^^
intrusted with the education of the young Duke of Bur-
gundy, grandson of the King and heir apparent to the throne
of France. The Duke was very headstrong, self-willed and
passionate; but through the instruction and influence of
Fenelon he gained the mastery of himself, and would doubt-
less have been a great and good king had he ever mounted
the throne. After serving five years as tutor of the Duke,
Fenelon was made Archbishop of Cambray, in 1694.

At a time when he was honored by the King of France,
and rapidly rising to fame, Fenelon became acquainted
with Madam Guyon, and through her prayers and conver-
sation he was led into a deeper,, richer, and fuller Chris-
tian experience which made him willing to sacrifice any-
thing in the service of Christ. He had often heard of the
piety and talents of Madam Guyon, who was suffering
great persecution from members of the Roman Catholic
Church on account of her teachings concerning a real cru-
cifixion of the self life and absolute acquiesence in the will
of God. While passing through the old home pf Madam
Guyon, on his return from a mission to the Protestants

FENELON 109

of Poitou, he made many inquiries concerning her, and
heard so much about her piety that he determined to visit
her, although he knew that it might cost him the King's
favor and also his reputation and position to do so. No
doubt the Lord put it into his heart to visit her under
such trying circumstances. He met her first at the village
of Beine, at the home of the Duchess of Charost. They
conversed for some time on the subject of inward experi-
ence, the subject which interested them most. The expe-
rience of Madam Guyon made a deep impression upon
the mind of Fenelon. Next day he visited her again at
the home of the Duchess of Bethune, in Paris. They spent
some time in prayer together, but Fenelon was not yet
filled with the Spirit, although his eyes were opened to
see more clearly what the Lord had in store for him.

During the next eight (kys a great burden of prayer
for Fenelon rested upon the heart of Madam Guyon, and
then the agony of soul passed away and she found inward
rest. Near the end of this period of travail of soul, she
wrote Fenelon a letter dated Paris, November, 1688, tell-
ing of her burden of prayer for him and urging him to
make a complete surrender of his will to God. In this
letter she says : " For seven days past I have been in a
state of continual prayer for you. I call it prayer, al-
though the state of mind has been somewhat peculiar. I
have desired nothing in particular. But my soul present-
ing continually its object before God, that God's will might
be accomplished and God's glory might be manifested in
it, has been like a lamp that bums without ceasing." Later,
in the same letter, she says : " It seems to me that the
designs of mercy, which God has upon you, are not yet
accomplished. Your soul is not yet brought into full har-
mony with God, and therefore I suffer. My suffering is
great. My prayer is not yet heard.

no PENELON

** The prayer which I oflFer for you is not the work of
the creature. It is not a prayer self-made, formal, and
outward. It is the voice of the Holy Ghost uttering it-
self in the soul, an inward voice which man cannot pre-
vent or control. The Holy Ghost prays with effect. When
the inward voice ceases, it is a sign that the grace which
has been supplicated has been sent down. I have been
in this state of mind before for other souls, but never
with such struggle of spirit, and never for so long a time.
God's designs will be accomplished upon you. I speak with
confidence; but I think it cannot be otherwise."

The next day she wrote him again. ''So deeply ab-
sorbing has been the application of my soul to God on
your account that I have slept but little during the past
night. And at this moment I can give an idea of my state
only by saying that my spirit, in the interest which it feels
for your entire renovation, bums and consumes itself with-
fai me.

" I have an inward conviction that the obstacle, which
has hitherto separated you from God, is diminishing and
passing away. Certain it is, that my soul b^ns to feel
a spiritual likeness and union ^ith yours, which it has not
previously felt."

Fenelon was humble in spirit, and hungered for a deeper
spiritual experience. Although a giant in intellect, he was
willing to learn from a little child. His first great strug-
gle was to be absolutely willing to utterly abandon him-
self to the will of God; for as Madam Guyon says, ''A
will surrendered is not always a will abandoned." Many
who haVe surrendered their wills to God are still anxious
to carry out their own plans and ambitions, and are greatly
vexed when their plans are thwarted. Fenelon seems finally
to have abandoned himself completely to the will of God,
but he struggled long before realizing the experience for

FENELON III

which his soul was hungering and thirsting. He some-
times met Madam Guyon, and frequently corresponded
with her concerning the experience which he so much de-
sired. Finally Madam Guyon wrote him a letter con-
cerning the steps necessary for the entire crucifixion of
the life of self. Fenelon seems to have grasped them in-
tellectually very clearly, as we learn from his summary
of them in a subsequent letter to Madam Guyon. In this
letter he says : '* I think, Madame, that I understand in
general, the statements in the paper which you had the
kindness to send me; in which you describe the various
experiences which characterize the soul's return to God by
means of simple or pure faith. I will endeavor, however,
to recapitulate some of your views, as they present them-
selves to me, that I may learn whether I correctly under-
stand them.

" I. The first step which is taken by the soul that has
formally and permanently given itself to God, would be
to bring what may be called its external powers — ^that is,
its natural appetites and propensities, — ^under subjection.
The religious state of the soul at such times is charac-
terized by that simplicity which shows its sincerity, and
that is sustained by faith. So that the soul does not act
of itself alone, but follows and co-operates, with all its
power, with the grace that is given it. It gains the vic-
tory through faith.

" II. The second step is to cease to rest on the pleas-
ures of inward sensibility. The struggle here is, in gen-
eral^ more severe and prolonged. It is hard to die to
those inward tastes and relishes, which make us feel so
happy, and which God usually permits us to enjoy and to
rest upon in our first experience. When we lose our in-
ward happiness, we are very apt to think that we lose
God; not considering that the moral life' of the soul does

iia FENELON

not consist in pleasure, but in union with God's will, wfiat-
evcr that may be. The victory here also is by faith ; act-
ing, however, in a little different way.

" III. Another step is that of entire crucifixion to any
reliance upon our virtues, either outward or inward. The
habits of the life of self have become so strong, that there
is hardly anything in which we do not take a d^^ee of
complacency. Having gained the victory over its senses,
and having gained so much strength that it can live by
faith, independently of inward pleasurable excitements, the
soul begins to take a d^^ee of satisfaction, which is se-
cretly a selfish one, in its virtues, in its truth, temperance,
faith, benevolence, and to rest in them as though they were
its own, and as if they gave it a claim of acceptance on
the ground of its merit. We are to be dead to them, con-
sidered as coming from ourselves; and alive to them only
as the gifts and the power of God. We are to have no
perception or life in them, in the sense of taking secret
satisfaction in them; and are to take satisfaction in the
Giver of them only.

** IV. A fourth step consists in a cessation or death
to that repugnance whidi men naturally feel to those deal-
ings of God which are involved in the process of inward
crucifixion. The blows which God sends upon us are re-
ceived without the opposition which once existed and ex-
isted oftentimes with great power. So clear is the soul's
perception of God's presence in everything; so strong is
its faith, that those apparently adverse dealings, which
were once so exceedingly trying, are now received, not
merely with acquiescence, but with cheerfulness. It kisses
the hand that smites it.

"V. When we have proceeded so far, we may say
with a good deal of reason, that the natural man is dead.
And then comes, as a fifth step in this process, the new

FBNELON 113

UFE, nof merely the beginning of a new life, Snt a new
life in the higher sense of the terms, the resurrection of
the life of love. All those gifts which the soul before
sought in its own strength, and perverted and rendered
poisonous and destructive to itself, by the seeking them out
of God, are now richly and fully returned to it, by the
great Giver of all things. It is not the design or plan of
God to deprive His creatures of happiness, but only to
pour the cup of bitterness into all that happiness, and to
smite all that joy and prosperity which the creature has in
any thing out of Himself. There is a moral law of hap-
piness, which is as unchangeable as the unchangeableness of
moral principles. He smites the false happiness, or hap-
piness founded on false principles, which is only the pre-
cursor of real permanent misery, in order that He may
establish the true and everlasting happiness, by bringing
the soul into perfect communion and union with Himself,
and by enabling it to drink the living water from the
Everlasting Fountain. And the soul has this new life,
and all the good and happiness involved in it, by ceasing
from its own action (that is to say, from all action ex-
cept that which is in co-operation with God), and letting
God live and act in it

" VI. And this life, in the sixth place, becomes a truly
transformed life, a life in union with God, when the will
of the soul becomes not only conformed to God practically
and in fact, but is conformed to Him in every thing in it,
and in the relations it sustains, which may be called a dispo-
sition or tendency. It is then, that there is such a har-
mony between the human and divine will, that they may
be properly regarded as having become one. This, I sup-
pose, was the state of St. Paul, when he says, ' / live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me. • • .' Of such a soul.

8

114 FENBLON

which IS described as the Temple of the Holy Ghost, God
Himself is the dweller and the light.

''This transformed soul does not cease to advance in
holiness. It is transformed without remaining where it is ;
new without being stationary. Its life is love, all love;
but the capacity of that love continually increases/'

Although Fenelon had so clear an intellectual under-
standing of the steps necessary to attain to a life of com-
plete consecration and abandonment to the will of God,
it was some time before he obtained the experience de-
scribed by him in the words just quoted. But finally he
seems to have laid hold on the truth with his heart as well
as with his intellect, and his whole life and character were
completely transformed. He became so great an exam-
ple of Christian love and piety that his name carries with
it a sweet savor of Christ wherever he is known ; and this
notwithstanding the fact that many attempts are made to
justify the Pope's treatment of Fenelon by disparaging the
character of the latter.

It was well for Fenelon that he " put on the whole
armour of God," for he had a great battle to fight on be-
half of the doctrine of entire death to the self life which
he had espoused. He was to become the greatest champion
of the doctrine in the annals of the history of his time.
Arrayed against him were the dissolute King, Louis XIV.,
and Bossuet, the greatest literary genius of his day, and
many of the most corrupt among the priests and people
of the Romish Church. Madam Guyon's teachings con-
cerning the interior life had already aroused their oppo-
sition when Fenelon took up the gauntlet on her behalf.
The doctrine of entire death to the self life, or of pure
or disinterested love, was spreading over the world so
rapidly that worldly and formal professors of religfion
became alarmed, and resolved to crush it out Fathtr

FENELON us

LaQ>mbe was thrown into prison and so cruelly tortured
that his reason became affected. As already mentioned.
Madam Guyon was also thrown into prison, by direct order
of the King. Fenelon, who was now foremost in teaching
the doctrine of pure or disinterested love, was not thrown
into prison, because his influence was so great that even the
King feared to imprison him.

Bishop Bossuet the greatest literary genius of the day,
wrote a book against the teachings of Madam Guyon and
sent it to Fendon for his approval. The influence and
standing of Fenelon were so great that Bossuet knew that
his approval of the book would mean much to the masses
of the people, and he thought that Fenelon would fear
to displease him and the King by withholding his approval.
But the book was so personal against Madam Guyon that
Fenelon felt he could not g^ve it his approval, and he wrote
Bossuet to this effect.

Fenelon knew that he would have to defend himself
for not endorsing Bossuet's book against Madam Guyon.
He therefore wrote a great work in reply to Bossuet. It
was entitled, ** Maxims of the Saints Concerning the Inte-
rior Life." In this work he showed that the greatest and
most spiritual saints all down through the ages had be-
lieved and taught the interior life of self-crucifixion and
pure love. Many of the most eminent saints were quoted
to this effect, including St. Francis de Sales, St. Francis
of Assisi, John of the Cross, Father Alvarez, St. Thomas
Aquinas, St. Bernard, St. Theresa, Dionysius the Areopa-
gite, Gregory Lopez, and many others. Many decisions
of ancient church councils concerning the subject were also
quoted. There was nothing personal in the book, but it
stirred the anger and indignation of Bossuet to see how the
people received it. He had been accustomed to swaying

ii6 PBNELON

the multitudes by his writings, and it was a great trial to
him to see that Fenelon's books were becoming more pop-
ular than his own. He had not the sweet Christian spirit
of Fenelon, and could brook no opposition. He deter-
mined to crush Fenelon at any cost, and for this purpose
wrote book after book against him. Great and masterly
as were the works of Bossuet, the replies of Fenelon seem
to have been still more masterly and decisive, and were cer-
tainly written in a more Christian spirit, and public opinion
was more favorable towards them. Speaking concerning
Fenelon's victory over Bossuet, Charles Butler, one of Fen-
elon's biographers, says : " Never did virtue and genius
obtain a more complete triumph. Fenelon's reply, by a
kind of enchantment, restored to him every heart." Bos-
suet, finding that he was no match for Fenelon in argu-
ment, determined to take the more direct method of ap-
pealing to the Pope to condemn his writings as heretical.
The Pope, Innocent XH., had been a great admirer of the
genius and writings of Fenelon, and had expressed him-
self favorably towards him. It was a matter of great grief
to him that the controversy had been brought to Rome.
He did not want to condemn the writings of Fenelon,
neither did he wish to offend the King of France or Bishop
Bossuet He delayed his decision for many months, and
it was only after the most urgent appeals and almost com-
mands from the King of France, that he finally pronounced
a mild condemnation on some of the expressions used by
Fenelon. The commission of cardinals appointed by the
Pope to examine the writings of Fenelon were divided in
their opinion concerning them. The cardinals Alfaro, Fab-
roni. Bouillon, and Gabricellio, and some of less note, took
the side of Fenelon. They were men of great learning, and
they maintained that the doctrines taught by Fenelon were
held by the great and pious men of the church in all ages,

FENELON 117

induding such illustrious saints as Qement, Cassian, Diony-
sius, Thauler, Gerson, De Sales, John of the Cross, Saint
Theresa, the Bishop of Bellay, and many others. They
also claimed that these doctrines were supported both by
the Scriptures and by reason. For two years the board
of cardinals continued to discuss the question without com-
ing to any decision. Louis XIV., King of France, then
became so impatient for the condemnation of Fenelon that
he decided to take a step that would intimidate the Pope
and cardinals and hasten their decision. For this purpose
he banished Fenelon to his own diocese of Cambray, and
also b^;an a series of persecutions against the frjends of
Fenelon. Urged on by Bossuet, he wrote again and again
to the Pope, asking him and almost commanding him to
condemn ^e teachings of Fenelon. Finally, in 1699, the
Pope issued his mild condemnation of some of the expres-
sions used by Fenelon, because of the wrong construction
which might be placed upon them. But he did not con-
demn them in the sense in which they were intended by
Fenelon.

From the time of his banishment to his own diocese un-
til his death, Fenelon confined his work to the diocese of
Cambray, where he was greatly beloved by the people, most
of whom were Flemish peasants. Many anecdotes are re-
lated concerning his love for these simple country folk.
One day, during one of his rural excursions, he met a
poor peasant grieving over the loss of a cow. He gave
the poor man enough money to buy another cow, but no-
ticed that he was still sad. This was because he was so
fond of his cow that he thought there was no other cow
like her. Fenelon continued his walk, and found the cow
the peasant had lost Although the sun had set and it
was quite dark, he drove her back to the peasant's cot-
tage. Although his revenues as Archbishop of Cambray

Ii8 FBNBLON

were considerable, Fenelon spent all in making other
happy. During his absence one time, before his banish
ment to his own diocese, word was brought to Fendoi
that his archepiscopal palace at Cambray had burned t
the ground and that his fine library was destroyed. Hi
friend, the Abbe de Langeron, seeing him conversing wit!
some friends, thought he had not heard the sad news, an<
started to break it to him gently. Fenelon, noticing th
solicitude of the good Abbe and surmising the cause of i1
informed him that he was already acquainted with the new
of what had happened. His faith in God and resigna
tion to His will and providence were too great for such ;
thing to deeply affect him.

For six days before his death, Fenelon listened con
stantly to the reading of the Scriptures, and the g^eate
part of his last two nights on earth were spent in listenini
to the reading of his favorite texts. He died January 7
171 5, and was buried in the cathedral at Cambray.

In personal appearance Fenelon was very imposing
''He was a tall, thin man, well made, pale, with a larg*
nose, eyes whence life and talent streamed like a torrent,'
says St. Simon, his contemporary and biographer. Hi
educational writings rank so high that they are in grea
demand even at the present day. His political views wer
far in advance of his times, and doubtless this was one
the main causes of the King's opposition to him. His de
votional writings, especially his " Letters to Men,'' an<
" Letters to Women," rank among the world's best Chris
tian literature. They will doubtless continue to exert j
mighty influence in the building up and deepening of Chris
tian character and experience until the end of this dispen
sation.

GEORGE FOX

Perhaps no other small denomination of Christians has
so influenced the world for good as have the Quakers, or
Friends. When George Fox, the foimder of tiie Friends'
Societies, began his preaching, the churches everywhere
were dead and formal, and when the churches drift into
formalism the world drifts into infidelity. A formal church
has always resulted in an unbelieving world. The Quaker
movement seems to have been raised up of God just in the
nick of time to save the church from formalism and the
world from infidelity. George Fox, like the ancient pro-
phets, was sent of God to call the church from formalism
to a real spiritual worship. Like many other great re-
formers, he was doubtless an extremist on some lines, but
it sometimes seems to be necessary for reformers to be ex-
tremists in order to thoroughly arouse the people. We
cannot agree with the Friends in discarding the outward

ordinances, which seem[ so clearly taught in the Scriptures
and which seem to have been practised by the early Chris-
tian church and by the churches^ all down through the cen-
turies of the Christian era. But perhaps the Lord allowed
the Friends to thus discard alt outward ordinances in or-
der the more clearly to direct the minds of the people to
the fact that He requires spiritual worship, and not mere
forms and ceremonies.

On many great questions the Friends were far in ad-
vance of the times in which the movement was founded.

131

122 GEORGE FOX

They raised their voices clearly against slavery nearly two
hundred years before others were brought to see the in-
justice, cruelty and sin of the traffic in human beings. An-
other matter in which the Friends were far in advance of
others was in their opposition tc war. They have prob-
ably been more instrumental than cmy other body of peo-
ple in bringing about the prebei:^ apposition to warfare.
The peace and arbitration movements of today doubtless
owe their origin to the Quakers more than to any other
class of persons. The Friends have also been foremost in
freeing woman from the bondage and subjection in which
she has been kept all down through the ages, especially in
Oriental lands. Believing that Paul's instructions concern-
ing the subordination of women were only a temporary
concession to the prejudice of the age in which he lived,
the Friends have encouraged the teadiing, preadiing, and
ministry of women as have no other denomination of
Christians, with perhaps the exception of the Salvation
Army, which is of more recent origin and whidi may have
been influenced by the Friends. From the beginning of
the movement the Friends have opposed not only war and
slavery of every kind, but they have also done much to
secure the abolition of capital punishment for minor of-
fences, imprisonment for debt, and religious persecution
of every kind.

It may be said that the reason why the Quakers have
been leaders in so many great reforms, and the reason why
they have been so prosperous in business affairs, is be-
cause their form of worship appeals to and attracts only
persons of great reflective power and mental ability, and
does not appeal to the masses. While there is some truth
in this assertion, we believe that it is also true that the
great reason why the Friends were leaders in spiritual
thought and business enterprises was because God enlight-

GEORGE POX 123

med and blessed them because of their consecration to His
service.

The remarkable thing about the Quaker movement, so
Ear in advance of its times on so many great questions,
ivas that it was founded by a poor and uneducated shoe-
maker. But many of the greatest leaders, like Bunyan,
Moody, and Spurgeon, have been raised up from among
the common people. ''God hath chosen the weak things
3f the world to confound the things which are mighty"
(i G>r. 1:27). George Fox began his preaching with-
out a follower, without belonging to anything, without any
special training, without a place to preach in, and with-
out social prestige of any kind. He raised his voice un-
;x»npromisingly against all the popular evils of the age,
igainst the formalism of both the established and free
rhurches, and against the religious persecutions for which
lie King and magistrates were responsible. He was per-
secuted, beaten, stoned, arrested and imprisoned more fre-
luently perhaps than any other person who ever lived,
rhere are few pages in his large journals which do not
:x>ntain some reference to his being mobbed, stoned, ar-
rested, or haled before the magistrates. In like manner
[lis followers were persecuted and imprisoned because they
cypposed so many popular evils and refused to conform to
ceremonies and practises which they could not conscien-
tiously perform. It is probable that George Fox and the
early Quakers suffered more for conscience sake and the
cause of religious freedom, and did more to bring about
religious liberty, than did any other class of people since
the days of the Reformation. Over and over again they
were thrown into prison for not doing things they could
not conscientiously do, especially for not conforming to
the state church, for refusing to enter the army and navy,
and because they would not take judicial oaths. It is es-

124 GEORGE POX

tima^ that af one time, in the year 1662, iio less thad
4,500 Quakers were in prison in England and Wales for
causes of this kind. But notwithstanding all they suf*
fered for the cause of religious freedom, George Fox and
the early Quakers increased in favor with God and man.
Prejudice against them gradually died away. People found
that they could trust them, and Friends in business were
better patronized than any other dass of people. Nations
are coming more and more to recognize the right to reli-
gious liberty and freedom of conscience for which the
Friends suffered so much. All over the world today there
is talk of abolishing war and settling differences in a judi-
cial and reasonable way rather than by murder and brute
force. Thus mighty movements for the advancement of
'' peace on earth and goodwill toward men '' were brought
about to a great extent by the humble ministry of a poor
English cobbler; just as the world's most helpful book
(the Word of God being excepted), " Pilgrim's Progress,"
was written by a poor illiterate English tinker, John Bun-
yan.

George Fox, the famous founder of the Quaker, or
Friends', societies, was bom in 1624, at Drayton-in-the-
Qay, Leicestershire, England. His father, he says, ''was
a weaver, an honest man; and there was a seed 'of God in
him. The neighbors called him Righteous Christer. My
mother was an upright woman; her name was Lago, and
she was of the stock of the martyrs."

Like Savonarola, Fox was solenm and grave even as a
child, and was unlike other children around him. At eleven
years of age he definitely yielded his heart to God, and
ever afterward sought to live an honest, upright life. His
parents, who were members of the Church of England,
desired to train him in their way of worship, but did not
urge him to conform to the Established Church. As he

GEORGE rox m

p-ew up, some of his relatives wished him to become a
priest, but others persuaded him to the contrary. He ap-
prenticed himself to a shoemaker, who also dealt in wool
and had many sheep. In this position much money went
through the hands of Fox, btxt he says that the Lord's
power was with him so that he ''never wronged a man
or woman in all that time.'^

At the age of nineteen Fok was deeply grieved and
shocked at the levity of some professing Qiristians, one
of them being his own cousin, who asked him into a booth
at a fair and then began to drink healths. He was so
deeply grieved over this that he could not sleep all night,
but walked up and down his room praying to the Lord.
Even as a young man he was very careful of his conduct
and conversation. '' For the Lord showed me/' says he,
''that though the people of the world have mouths full of
deceit, and changeable words, yet I was to keep to Yea
and Nay in all things; and that my words should be few
and savoury, seasoned with grace; and that I might not
cat and drink to make myself wanton, but for health,"
etc In 1643 he became so deeply grieved with the light-
ness and frivolity of the world that he broke off all com^
panionships with both old and young; and traveled to
many strange places to be away from all friends, relatives,
and acquaintances, and to be alone with God. He avoided
conversing even with professing Christians, '' for I was
sensible," says he, ''that they did not possess what they
professed." He was in great distress, and strong tempta-
tion and despair seized upon him. " I was about twenty
years of age when these exercises came upon me," says he,
''and I continued in that condition some years, in great
trouUe, and fain would have put it from me. I went to
many a priest to look for comfort, but found no comfort
from them." The remedies suggested for his state of mind

126 GEOBQE FOX

were-^that he should marry; that he should enlist in the
army; that he should take physic and be bled; and one
priest to whom he described his feelings of despair ad-
vised him to use tobacco and sing psalms; ''but/' says
Fox, ''tobacco was a thing I did not love, and psalms I
was not in a state to sing." He was grieved that he had
opened his mind to a man who would give such advice.
He found his advisers all miserable comforters. One who
lived at Tamworth was said to be " an experienced man/'
but Fox went to see him and found him to be " like an
empty hollow cask/' Dr. Craddock, of Coventry, to whom
Fox went for advice, flew into a rage because the despon-
dent youth accidentally stepped on the edge of his flower
bed.

Finding that he could get no help from men, Fox be-
gan to look to the Lord alone for help, and slowly the
light began to dawn upon him. He was led to see " that
being bred at Oxford and Cambridge did not qualify or
fit a man to be a minister of Christ." His eyes were also
opened to see that "only those were really believers in
Christ who had passed from death unto life." He now
left off going to the Established Churdi with his relatives.
Neither did he go to any of the dissenting churches. He
now went out into the fields with his Bible to study it for
himself. He also spent much time in fasting and prayer.
The Lord showed him many "openings," as he called
them. Among other things, says he, " It was opened in
me 'that God, who made the world, did not dwell in
temples made by hands.' " This at first seemed a strange
word, because both priests and people used to call their
temples or churches, dreadful places, holy ground, and
the temples of God. But the Lord showed me clearly, that
He did not dwell in those temples which men had oom-
manded and set up, but in people's hearts; for both Ste-

GEORGE POX 127

phen and the Apostle Paul bore testimony, that He did

not dwell in temples made with hands, not even in that

which He had once commanded to be built, since He put

an end to it ; but that His people were His temple, and He

dwelt in them." Fox also claims that the Lord gave him

many ''openings" concerning the meaning of the book of
Revelation. After this, when clergymen or others told him
that Revelation was ''a sealed book/' he would tell them
that Christ could open the seals.

The Lord continued to lead him on from step to step
in his Christian experience, but his troubles were not com-
pletely removed, although he often felt some degree of
peace and joy. He hungered and thirsted for a deeper
experience, and the Lord showed him that it was possible
for him to have complete spiritual victory. He was led
to see that there are two laws controlling men, the law of
the flesh and the law of the Spirit, and that through the
indwelling Spirit of God the Christian should have "lib'
erty and victory over the flesh and its works." He now
began to win many souls for Christ wherever he went;
and in 1647 he began to declare to professing Christians
the deep truths which God had been revealing to him.
** But the professors were in a rage," says he, " all plead-
ing for sin and imperfection, and could not endure to hear
talk of perfection, and of a holy and sinless life."

Soon after he began to preach. Fox passed through a
remarkable spiritual experience which made him a four-
teen days' wonder to many. A certain man named Brown,

wliile on his death-bed, prophesied many great things con-
cerning Fox. " When this man was buried," says Fox, " a
great work of the Lord fell on me, to the admiration oi
many who thought I had been dead; and many came U
see me for about fourteen days. I was very much altered

i

128 GEORGE FOX

in countenance and person, as if my body had been new
molded or changed* While I was in that condition I had
a sense and discerning given me by the Lord, through
which I saw plainly that when many people talked of God
and of Christ, etc., the serpent spoke in them; but this
was hard to be borne. Yet the work of the Lord went
on in some, and my sorrows and troubled began to wear
off, and tears of joy dropped from me, so that I could
have wept night and day with tears of joy to the Lord,
in humility and brokenness of heart. I saw into that which
was without end, and things which cannot be uttered, and
of the greatness and infinitude of the love of God, which
cannot be expressed by words. . . . And a report went
abroad of me, that I was a young man that had a dis-
cerning spirit; whereupon many came to me, frcmi far
and near, professors, priests, and people; and the Lord's
power brake forth; and I had great openings and pro-
phecies; and spake unto them of the things of God, and
they heard with attention and silence, and went away, and
spread the fame thereof."

After passing through the experience described above.
Fox was mightly used of God, and great conviction of
sin fell upon the people to whom he preadied. ''The
Lord's power began to shake them," says he, ''and great
meetings we began to have, and a mighty power and work
of God there was amongst people, to the astonishment oi
both people and priests." Later, he says, "After this I
went to Mansfield, where was a great meeting of profes-
sors and people; here I was moved to pray ; and the Lord's
power was so great, that the house seemed to be shaken."

Fox now went about the country preaching wherever
he could find an opening. He frequently entered the
" steeple-houses," as he called the $tate churches.. And
when the priest finished speaking he would arise and

GEORGE FOX 129

hort the people. He often pointed out to them that their
meeting-chouses were not churches, but that the people
who truly believed in Christ were the real church of God.
The Friends never call their places of worship churches.
They call them meeting-houses. Although Fox, or any
other person, had a legal right to speak in the state churches
when the priest had finished, so long as the rules of de-
cency and order were observed, his speeches often led to
controversies with the priests and others, and this often
led to his arrest and frequently to his imprisonment. But
as soon as he was set at liberty he began again to speak
in the state churches or wherever he could find an open
door. No amount of persecution or suffering seemed to
dampen his zeal or cool his ardor. Many spiritually
minded persons who were dissatisfied with the formalism
of the times began to rally around him, and soon Societies
of Friends were formed all over the country.

Notwithstanding all he suffered, Fox continued to ad-
vance in his own Christian experience, although he some-
times met with times of great temptation and triaf. He
seems to have^ frequently had real visions and revelations
from the Lord, similar to those of Savonarola. While in
a sort of trance or ecstacy, he seemed to discern many
deep spiritual truths. ''Great things did the Lord lead
me into,'' says he, ''and wonderful depths were opened
unto me." Among other things which he claimed the Lord
revealed to him were the medical properties of many herbs.
That he really understood the medicinal properties of some
herbs seems to be borne out by the fact that so many
cures were attributed to the Quaker remedies that they
soon became famous. Like Savonarola, Fox seems to have
had a number of future events revealed to him. Thus, in
1664, he saw in vision the Lord's power checking the West-
ward advance of the Turks. On several occasions, while
9

130 GEORGE FOX

on the tops of mountains or hills, he had a vision of places
in the surrounding country where Friends Societies would
be raised up, or where "believers would be gathered" to
him. He had a presentiment of the death of Oliver Crom-
well just before the great commoner was called from this
life.

A remarkable power seemed to accompany the preach-
ing of Fox wherever he went, whether in Britain or Amer-
ica, Germany, Holland, or the West Indies. He usually
went about the country on foot, dressed in his famous suit
of leather clothes, said to have been made by himself, and
often sleeping out of doors or in some haystack. He was
ridiculed and persecuted, beaten and stoned, arrested and
imprisoned, more frequently perhaps than any other man,
and yet the Lord seemed to greatly bless and own his
labors. Describing his meetings at Ticknell, England, he
says: "The priest scoffed at us and called us Quakers.
But the Lord's power was so over them, and the word of
life was declared in such authority and dread to them, that
the priest began trembling himself ; and one of the people
said, ' Look how the priest trembles and shakes, he is
turned Quaker also/ "

In describing his meetings, Fox often uses words simi-
lar to the following: "And a precious meeting there was,
wherein the Lord's power was over all; and the people
were directed to the Spirit of God, by which they might
come to know God and Christ, and understand the Scrip-
tures aright," and so on. He also frequently uses words
similar to the following : " Much work I had in those
days, both with priests and people, concerning their old
mass-houses, which they called their churches; for the
priests had persuaded the people that it was the house of
God; whereas the apostle says: 'Whose house are we,'
etc (Heb. 3:8.) So the people are God's house, in whom

GEORGE FOX 131

He dwells. And the apostle saith, 'Christ purchased the
church with His own blood:' and Christ calls His church
His spouse, His bride, and the Lamb's wife: so that this
title, church and spouse, was not given to an old house,
but to His people, the true believers."

Describing an occasion when he spoke in Carlisle, Fox
says : " The power of the Lord was dreadful among them
in the steeple-house, so that the people trembled and shook ;
and some of them feared that it would fall down on their
heads." Later, he says: "Now I went into the country,
and had mighty great meetings. The everlasting gospel
and word of life flourished, and thousands were turned to
the Lord Jesus Christ, and to His teaching." At Sutton
he spoke to a multitude of people. "A great convincement
there was," says he, "and many hundreds were turned
from darkness to the light," etc. Describing one of his
meetings in another place, he says : " I stood a while be«
fore I began to speak; after some time I felt the power
of the Lord go over the whole assembly; and His ever-
lasting truth and life shown over all." Thus he went
from place to place in Britain and other lands preaching
the gospel with wonderful unction and power.

In spiritual matters Fox seems to have had a discern-
ment far in advance of any other person of his day. Thus,
while others were contending that the " body of sin " was
the natural body, or body of flesh. Fox taught that the
natural body was not the " body of sin " or we would not
have been commanded to "* put it off." While others called
the days of the week and the months of the year by the
names derived from heathen gods (Sunday, Monday; and
January, February, etc.), the Quakers rejected these pagan
names and called the days, " First Day, Second Day," etc.,
and the months, " First Month, Second Month," etc. They
waited for the Holy Spirit to move them to speak, sing;

1331 GEORGE FOX

or pray; and if no one felt led of the Spirit to take part
in the meeting, the meetings were spent in silence and
prayer, and would break up without a word being spcrfcen.
The early Friends did not use the titles Mr. and Mrs«, or
Miss, but called each other by their given names, as though
they were all members of one great family, as God's chil-
dren truly are. Neither did they apply the title of Rev.
to their ministers, or leaders, for they had no salaried min-
isters. In their dress, manners, language, and every other
way they displayed a commendable simplicity and avoided
extravagance. They seem to have had great power in
prayer. Fox tells of cases in which sick people were healed
and devils cast out in answer to prayer.

The great secret of Fox's own power was his faith in
God. William Penn, the famous Quaker, wrote concern-
ing him : " But above all, he excelled in prayer. The in-
wardness and weight of his spirit, the reverence and solem-
nity of his dress and behaviour, and the fewness and ful-
ness of his words, have often struck even strangers, with
admiration, and they used to reach others with consola-
tion. The most awful, living, reverent frame I ever felt
or beheld, I must say, was his in prayer."

In his journal. Fox says: "The Lord had said unto
me, 'If but one man or woman were raised up by His
power, to stand and live in the same spirit that the apostles
and prophets were in, who gave forth the Scriptures, that
man or woman should shake all the country in their pro-
fession for miles around.' " This proved to be more than
true in his case. He started with scarcely any advantages,
and soon influenced the whole world for God. Although he
began his preaching with a limited education, without any
special training and without special advantages of any kind,
he soon had England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales ablaze
for Gody and his influence was powerfully exerted in Amer-

GEORGE FOX 133

tea and other lands, and his followers are now numbered
by the hundreds of thousands. Truly, in him we have an
example of how God can use the weak things of the world
to confound the mighty.

In personal appearance Fox was a large man, with re-
markably piercing eyes. His eyes pierced sinners so that
they could hardly endure to have him look at them, and
his words were " like a flash of lightning." A remark-
able spirit of discernment seems to have been given to
him; so that he seemed to be able to read the characters
of men by looking at them. The character of one ap-
peared like that of a fox, of another, like that of a wolf,
a serpent, a lion, or a wasp; and so on. His judgment
was so clear and his logic so convincing that he seems to
have always been able to confound the judges and magis-
trates before whom he was so frequently arraigned, al-
though that fact did not save him from frequently going
to prison for conscience sake. Even the Lord Chief Jus-
tice of England and the great Protector, Oliver Cromwell,
seem to have been impressed by his arguments against the
persecution of the Friends; although it was a long time
before they secured exemption from the army and from
taking judicial oaths.

The one great object of all George Fox's preaching
and ministry was to turn the eyes of the people away from
outward forms and ceremonies, and to direct them to the
need of real holiness of heart and life. And such was
also the real object of the ministry of Jesus. The entire
Sermon on the Mount, all the parables of Jesus, and every
word uttered by Him, was for the purpose of showing
pec^le that mere outward forms and ceremonies, or out-
ward works of any kind, would not save them. He taught
them that they must be pure in heart, meek in spirit, that
they must love God and their neighbor, or they would not

134 GEORGE FOX

enter the kingdom of heaven. Neither Christ nor the
apostles esteemed good works lightly when they taught
that the outward deeds of the law would not save; but
their object was to show the people the real need of in-
ward holiness. So the great mission of George Fox and
the Quakers was not to depreciate outward forms and
ceremonies so much as to emphasize the need of inward
purity and righteousness. In doing this they may have
set too light a value on the outward ordinances prescribed
in the Scriptures, but they accomplished their main object
so well that the world owes to them a very great debt of
gratitude. In the writings of such eminent Friends as
George Fox, William Penn, Robert Barclay, and others,
may be found some of the most helpful spiritual teach-
ings outside the Word of God,

John Bunyan

JOHN BUNYAN

It is not to be wondered at that John Bunyan, the
author of " Pilgrim's Progress," had a very deep inward
experience of the grace of God. Without such an experi-
ence an illiterate tinker would scarcely have been able to
write the book which has had a greater circulation than
any other book except the Bible. Next to the Bible, '' Pil-
grim's Progress" is the world's most popular book. It
has been translated into almost every important language,
and adapted to the use of children as well as adults, and
to the use of Roman Catholics as well as Protestants.
*' Illustrious dreamer " that he was, John Bunyan did not
dream all of his immortal allegory. '' Pilgrim's Progress "
is almost as much his own experience as is "Grace Abound-
ing." The struggles and triumphs of Christian in " Pil-
grim's Progress" represent the real spiritual conflicts and
conquests of Bunyan himself, on his way to the Celestial
City ; and we will first trace the history of his spiritual ex-
periences as recorded in "Pilgrim's Progress," and then
as recorded in " Grace Abounding."

In "Pilgrim's Progress" Christian is first seized with
conviction. He then leaves the City of Destruction, strug-
gles through the Slough of Despond, endeavors to find help
at Mr. Legality's, and then enters the Wicket Gate, after
which his burden rolls away at the foot of the Cross.
After entering the Wicket Gate he is shown by Interpreter
some of the things that he will meet with on lUs way to

138 JOHN BUNYAN

the Celestial City. " Then he took him by the hand," says
the narrative, "and led him into a very large parlor that
was full of dust, because never swept: the which after
he had reviewed a little while, the Interpreter called for
a man to sweep. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust
began so abundantly to fly about, that Christian had al-
most therewith been choked. Then said the Interpreter to
a damsel that stood by, * Bring hither water, and sprinkle
the room ;' the which when she had done, it was swept and
cleansed with pleasure.

" Then said Christian, * What meaneth this ?'

"The Interpreter answered, 'This parlor is the heart
of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of
the Gospel : the dust is the original sin, and inward corrup-
tions, that have defiled the man. He that began to sweep
at first is the Law; but she that brought water, and did
sprinkle it, is the Gospel. Now, whereas thou sawest, that
as soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about,
that the room could not by him be cleansed, but that thou
wast almost choked therewith: this, is to shew thee, that
the law, instead of cleansing the heart (by its working;
from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase it
in the soul, even as it doth discover and forbid it; for it
doth not give power to subdue.

" 'Again, as thou sawest the damsel sprinkle the room
with water, upon which it was cleansed with pleasure, this
is to shew thee, that when the Gospel comes in the sweet
and precious influences thereof to the heart, then I say,
even as thou sawest the damsel lay the dust, by sprinkling
the floor with water, so is sin vanquished and subdued,
and the soul made clean, through the faith of it, and con-
sequently fit for the King of Glory to mhabit.' "

Again, Christian is shown by Interpreter that the fire
of God's grace will "bum higher and hotter" in the

JOHN BUNYAN 139

human heart, no matter how much water Satan casts upon
it, when the oil of grace (the Holy Spirit) is continually
feeding the flame. This is shown by a fire which bums
higher and hotter although a man (representing Satan)
is constantly throwing water on it. The fire is next to a
wall, and hidden by the wall is a man (representing the
Holy Spirit) who is constantly feeding the fire with oil.

When Christian leaves the house of Interpreter, the
latter says, "The Comforter be always with thee, good
Christian, to guide thee in the way that leads to the city !"

During his pilgrimage Christian meets with many en-
emies and difficulties, and with many friends and blessings.
At length he reaches the Palace Beautiful, where he is
much instructed in the things of God by Piety, Prudence,
and Charity. He sleeps all night in the Chamber of Peace,
and next morning gets a glimpse of Immanuel's Land.
"When the morning was up, they had him to the top of
the house, and bid him look south : so he did ; and behold,
at a great distance, he saw a most pleasant mountainous
country, beautified with woods, vineyards, fruits of all
sorts, flowers also, with springs and fountains, very delec-
table to behold. Then he asked the name of the country.
They said it was Immanuel's Land. 'And it is as com-
mon,' said they, 'as this hill is, to and for all Pilgrims;
and when thou comest there, from thence thou niayest see
to the gate of the Celestial City, as the shepherds that live
there will make appear.'" Christian is very anxious to
reach the beautiful land, and after they clothe him with
armor he sets out upon his journey.

Until he reaches the Palace Beautiful Christian has no
armor or weapons, just as spiritual babes have not "put
on the whole armor of God." But when he has courage
enough to pass the great lions and enter the palace. Piety,
Prudence, and Charity clothe him with armor from head

140 JOHN BUNYAN

to feet, just as they will lead other Christians to put on
the full armor of God by being "filled with the Spirit."
The narrative says, " The next day they took him, and
had him into the Armory, where they showed him all man-
ner of furniture, which the Lord had provided for Pil-
grims, as sword, shield, helmet, breast-plate, all-prayer,
and shoes that would not rear out. And there was. here
enough of this to hames.«' as many men for the service
of their Lord, as there be stars in heaven for multitude."
Christian's departure is thus described : " Now he be-
thought himself of setting forward, and they were will-
ing he should. ' But first,' said they, ' let us go again into
the Armory ' so they did, and when he came there, they
harnessed him from head to foot, with what was proof,
lest perhaps he should meet with assaults in the way." It
was well that they did so, for Christian had many con-
flicts awaiting him, and he would scarcely have reached
the Celestial City had he not been clad in spiritual armor
at the Palace Beautiful. As it was, he was almost slain
in his great battle with ApoUyon.

After many trials and conflicts Christian arrives at
Vanity Fair, through which all pilgrims must pass on their
way to the Celestial City. Here the worldly people
did not understand Christian and his friend Faithful. "And
as they wondered at their apparel, so they did likewise at
their speech; for few could understand what they said,
they naturally spoke the language of Canaan, but they that
kept the Fair were rresa of this world." The merchants
of Vanity Fair are tmeatly amused as well as displeased
because "the Pilgrims set very light by all their wares,
they cared not so much as to look upon them." This
causes a mighty uproar among the people of Vanity Fair,
and the Great One of the Fair has the pilgrims arrested
AJk their trial Christian and Faithful state that " they were

JOHN BUNYAN X41

pilgrims and strangers in the world, and that they were
going to their own country, which was heavenly Jerusa-
lem/' The men of Vanity Fair conclude that they are in-
sane, and shut them up in an iron cage, but their peace-
able and pious behavior wins friends for them even in
Vanity Fair. These friends try to stop the baser men from
persecuting the pilgrims, and tell them that there are many
wicked men who ought to be punished instead of these
pilgrims. A quarrel ensues, and the two pilgrims are
blamed for the disturbance. A second trial takes place,
before Judge Hategood. Envy testifies that Faithful " doth
all he can to possess all men with certain of his disloyal
notions, which he, in general, galls principles of holiness.
And, in particular, I heard him once myself afErm, that
Christianity and the customs of our town of Vanity were
diametrically opposite, and could not be reconciled." Su-
perstition also witnesses against him; and finally Pick-
thank testifies, among other things, that Faithful "hath
railed on our noble Prince Beelzebub, and hath spoken con-
temptibly of his honorable friends, whose names are the
Lord Oldman, the Lord Carnal Delight, the Lord Luxuri-
ous, the Lord Desire of Vain Glory, my old Lord Letchery,
Sir Having Greedy, with all the rest of the nobility."
Faithful is condemned to death by the jury, whose names
are Mr. Blindman, Mr. No-good, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-
lust, Mr. Live-loose, Mr. Heady, Mr. High-mind, Mr. En-
mity, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr. Hate-light, and Mr. Im-
placable.

Christian escapes, and continuing on his way is joined
by Hopeful. They are led aside by Vain-confidence, and
leave the King's highway, or "the Way of Holiness," as
Bunyan calls it in his description of the encounter be-
tween Christian and ApoUyon. Giant Despair seizes them,
and throws them into the dungeon of Doubting Castle.

142 JOHN BUNYAN

where they aknost perish. But Christian finally opens the
prison door with the key of Promise, and he and Hopeful
find their way back to the King's highway. They continue
their journey and soon reach the Delectable Mountains,
where they enjoy the richest blessings of Lnmanuel's Land.
From these mountains they obtain a glimpse of the Celes-
tial City. They eat and drink freely of the best that ^* the
gardens and orchards, the vineyards and fountains of wa-
ter" afford. Greatly refreshed, they continue their journey.
After traveling for some time in the highway, they are again
led aside, and snared in the net of Flatterer. A Shining One
delivers them, and leads them back to the narrow way.

Journeying on their way they enter Beulah-land, in
which country they continue to the end of their pilgrimage.
Bunyan describes the Beulah-land experience in the fol-
lowing words : " Now I saw in my dream, that by this time
the Pilgrims were got over the Enchanted Ground, and
entering into the country of Beulah (Isa. 62:4), whose
air was very sweet and pleasant, the way lying directly
through it, they solaced themselves there for a season ; yea,
here they heard continually the singing of the birds, and
saw every day the flowers appear in the earth, and heard
the voice of the turtle in the land (Cant. 2: 12). In this
country the sun shineth night and day ; wherefore this was
beyond the Valley of the Shadow of Deaith, and also out
of the reach of Giant Despair; neither could they from
this place so mudh as see Doubting^castle. Here they were
within sight of the City they were going to; also here
they met some of the inhabitants thereof; for in this land
the Shining Ones commonly walked, because it was on
the borders of Heaven. In this land also the contract be-
tween the bride, and the bridegroom was renewed; yea,
here, ' as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so doth

JOHN BUNYAN 143

fheir God rejoice over them ' (Isa. 62: 5). Here they had
no want of com and wine; for in this place they met with
abundance of what they had sought for in all their pil-
grimage (Isa. 62:8, 9). Here they heard voices from
out of the city ; loud voices, saying, ' Say ye to the daugh-
ter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh, behold his re-
ward is with himT (Isa. 62:11, 12). Here all the in-
habitants of the country called them * tiie holy people, the
redeemed of the Lord; sought out,' etc.

*' Now as tiiey walked in this land they had more re-
joicing than in parts more remote from the kingdom to
which they were bound; and drawing near the City they
had yet a more perfect view thereof. It was builded of
pearls and precious stones, also the streets thereof were
paved with gold; so that, by reason of the natural glory
of the dty, and the reflection of the sun-beams upon it,
Christian with desire fell sick. Hopeful also had a fit or
two of the same disease; wherefore here they lay by it a
while, crying out, because of their pangs, ' If you see my
beloved, tell him tiiat I am sick of love.'

''But being a little strengthened, and better able to
bear their sickness, they walked on their way, and came
yet nearer and nearer, where were orchards, vineyards, and
gardens, and their gates opened into the highway. Now,
as they came up to these places, behold the Gardener stood
in the way; to whom the Pilgrims said, 'Whose goodly
vineyards and gardens are these?' He answered, 'They
are the King's, and are planted here for His own delight,
and also for tiie solace of Pilgrims.' So the Gardener had
them into the vineyards, and bid them refresh themselves
with the dainties (Deut. 23:24), he also showed them
there the King's walks and the arbours where He de-
lighted to be ; and there they tarried and slept

144 JOHN BUNYAN

" Now I beheld in my dream that they talked more m
their sleep at this time, than ever they did in all their
journey; and being in a muse thereabout, the Gardener
said even to me, 'Wherefore musest thou at the matter?
It is the nature of the fruit of the grapes of these vine-
yards to go down so sweetly, as to cause the lips of them
that are asleep to speak (Cant. 7:9).

" So I saw that, when they awoke, they addressed
themselves to go up to the City. But, as I said, the re-
flection of the sun upon the city (for the City was pure
gold, Rev. 21:28) was so extremely glorious, that they
could not, as yet, with open face, behold it, but through
an instrument made for the purpose (2 Cor. 3:18). So
I saw that, as they went on, there met them two men in
raiment that shone like gold, also their faces shone as the
light. These angels accompanied the Pilgrims (because of
their faith) until they reached the river of Death and
crossed it to the Celestial City."

Having traced the deeper spiritual experiences of Bun-
yan in allegory, as related in "Pilgrim's Progress," we
will briefly state in plain words how his burden rolled away
at the foot of the cross, and how he reached a Beulah-land
experience.

He was bom in the village of Elstow, England, in 1628 ;
" of a low inconsiderable generation," to use his own words.
He probably refers to the fact that he was bcm and bred
to the profession of a tinker, or mender of pots and ket-
tles, as was his faither before him. This profession, in
those days, was carried on principally by Gypsies, and for
that reason some have supposed that Bunyan was of Gypsy
descent. He received some schooling when a boy, but
claims to have forgotten most of it before his conversion.

JOHN BUNYAN 145

He served his apprenticeship and learned his trade in Bed-
ford. His parents seem to have given him religious coun-
sel and advice, but he was a very wicked boy. He says,
" I had but few equals, (especially considering my years,
which were tender, being few) both for cursing, swear-
ing, lying, and blaspheming the name of God.

** Yea, so settled and rooted was I in these things, that
they became a second nature to me. The which, as I also
have with soberness considered since, did so offend the
Lord, that even in my childhood He did scare and affright
me with fearful dreams, and did terrify me with dreadful
visions. For often after I had spent this and the other
day in sin I have in my bed been greatly afflicted while
asleep, with the apprehensions of devils and wicked spirits,
who still, as I then thought, laboured to draw me away
with them; of which I could never be rid." Thoughts
about hell and the judgment day also greatly troubled him.
"These things," he says, "when I was but a child, but nine
or ten years old, did so distress my soul, that then in the
midst of my many sports and diildish vanities, amidst my
vain companions, I was often much cast down and afflicted
in my mind therewith, yet could I not let go sins."

Later, he says: "A while after these terrible dreams
did leave me, which also I soon forgot; for my pleasures
did quickly cut off the remembrance of them, as if they
had never been. Wherefore with more greediness, ac-
cording to the strength of nature, I did set loose the reins
to my lust, and delighted in all transgression against the
law of God ; so that, until I came to the state of marriage,
I was tiie very ringleader of all the youth that kept me
company, in all manner of vice and tmgodliness." De-
scribing this period of his life, he also says, " In these

days, the thoughts of religion were grievous to me. I
10

146 JOHN BUNYAN

could neither endure it myself, nor that any other should."
But he did not like to see professed Christians sin. *' Yet
this I well remember," says he, " that though I could my-
self sin with the greatest delight and ease, and also take
pleasure in the vileness of my companions ; yet, even then,
if I have at any time seen wicked things by those who
professed godliness, it would make my spirit tremble."

Twice he barely escaped drowning, once he came very
nearly being bit by a poison adder, and a man who took
his place in the army was killed while on sentinel duty;
but God mercifully preserved Bunyan's life. "Here,"
says he, " were judgments and mercy, but neither of them
did awaken my soul to righteousness ; wherefore I sinned
still, and grew more and more rebellious against God, and
careless of mine own salvation.

" Presently after this (when he was about twenty years
of age), I changed my condition into a married state; and
my mercy was to light upon a wife, whose father was
counted godly. This woman and I, though we came to-
gether as poor as poor might be (not having so much
household stuff as a dish or a spoon betwixt us both), yet
this she had for her part. The Plain Man's Pathway to
Heaven, and The Practice of Piety, which her father had
left her when he died. In these books I should sometimes
read with her, wherein I also found some things that were
somewhat pleasing to me; (but all diis while I met with
no conviction). She also would be often telling of me,
what a godly man her father was, etc. Wherefore these
books with this relation, though they (lid not reach my
heart to awaken it about my soul and sinful state, yet
they did beget widiin me some desires to religion ; so that,
because I knew no better, I fell in very eagerly with the re-
ligion of the times ; to wit, to go to Qiurch twice a day, and

JOHN BUNVAN 147

that too with the foremost ; and there should very devoutly
say and sing as others did, yet retaining my wicked life/' At
this time he had great reverence for the clergy, their vest-
ments, the Liturgy, and all that belonged to the worship
of the Church of England. " But all this while," says he,
'* I was not sensible of the danger and evil of sin. I was
kept from considering that sin would damn me, what re*
ligion soever I followed, unless I was found in Christ."
Finally, his pastor preached a sermon against the popular
sins and vices with their fearful consequences, which
awakened Bunyan's conscience for the first time to the evil
nature of sin. But, on retuminjg home, he soon forgot
the sermon. " I shook the sermon out of my mind," says
he, ''and to my old custom of sports and gaming I re-
turned with great delight." The same Sunday, however,
while he was playing a game of cat, the conviction re-
turned with such power that he stood still for a while be-
fore all the players, none of whom knew what was pass-^
ing in his mind. After a few minutes spent in silent
thought, he concluded that he had gone too far in sin to
ever find salvation, and he determined to get what com-
fort he could out of sin. He says, " Now therefore I went
on in sin with great greediness of mind, still grudging that
I could not be satisfied with it as I would. But one day,
as I was standing in a neighbour's shop-window, and there
cursing and swearing, and playing the madman, after my
wonted manner, there sat within the woman of the house
and heard me; who though she was a very loose and un-
godly wretch, yet protested that I swore and cursed at that
most fearful rate, that she was made to tremble to hear
me ; and told me further, That I was the ungodliest fellow
for swearing that ever she heard in all her life; and that I,
by thus doing, was able to spoil all the youth in a whole

148 JOHN BUNYAN

town, if they came in my company/' This well-merited
rebuke had a sobering influence on Bunyan. He left off
swearing, and a friend's conversation led him to read the
Bible. This led to some outward reformation, and then
he imagined that he '' pleased G!od as well as any man in
England." Even his dancing was given up, and for about
a year he continued to live a better outward life, to the
great surprise of his neighbors; but he had not yet found
peace and rest and joy through faith in Christ. " But upon
a day the good providence of God did cast me to Bedford,
to work upon my calling;" says he, ''and in one of the
streets of that town, I came where there were three or four
poor women sitting at a door in the sun, and talking about
the things of God." These three women are described
in " Pilgrim's Progress " under the allegory of the three
princesses at the Palace Beautiful. Bunyan's conversations
with them opened his eyes to see that he had been trust-
ing in his own outward works for salvation instead of in
the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw that these poor women
were basking in the sun on the mountain top of Christian
experience, while he was " shivering and shrinking in the
cold, afflicted with frost, snow and dark clouds." He now
tried to look to Christ for salvation, but like Lorenzo Dow
and many others was plunged into fearful despondency and
despair by the thought that he might not be one of God's
elect. He imagined that God had reprobated him to be lost ;
and for weeks and months he was in so great agony that he
could scarcely endure it. The three Christian women he
had met introduced him to Mr. Gifford, the Baptist min-
ister in the place. Mr. Gifford took a great interest in him,
but probably never dreamed that Bunyan would be his
successor. Mr. Gifford, no doubt, is the Evangelist of
"Pilgrim's Progress," who points Christian to the wicket

JOHN BUNYAN X49

gate; tmt Bunyan was for a whole year in the Slough of
Despond before he finally reached the wicket gate, and be-
fore his burden rolled away at the foot of the cross. Dur-
ing that time, although he was in awful despair, his con-
science was so tender with regard to sin that he 'Murst
not take a pin, or a stick, though but so big as a straw,"
or do the least thing that he considered wrong. But the
thought that he was reprobated to be lost made him wish
that he had never been bom.

He found peace and joy in Christ one evening as he
sat by the fireside, musing on his miserable condition. The
Lord brought Hebrews 2: 14, 15 vividly to his mind. "I
thought," says he, '' that the glory of these words was then
so weighty on me that I was, both once and twice, ready
to swoon away; yet not with grief and trouble, but with
solid joy and peace." Later on he says, *' But, oh ! now,
how was my soul led from truth to truth by God! Even
from the birth and cradle of the Son of God to His
ascension and second coming from heaven to judge the
world." His love for Christ now seemed to bum as " hot
as fire." After continuing for some time to enjoy peace
and rest of soul, he had a great conflict, represented by
the fight with Apoll)ryon in Pilgrim's Progress. Tempta-
tions to sell Christ for trifles came into his mind, and he
imagined that he had actually yielded to them, and that
Christ had forsaken him. " Nothing now for two years
together would abide with me but damnation and an ex-
pectation of damnation," says he. He felt that he had com-
mitted a worse sin than David, or Judas, or Peter, and
that he had sinned against the Holy Ghost. So great was
his despair, he found it hard to pray. "Then I was
struck into a very great trembling," says he, "insomuch
that at sometimes I could, for whole days together, fec^

ISO JOHN BUNYAN

my very body, as well as my mind, to shake and totter
under the sense of die dreadful judgment of God, that
should fall on those who have sinned that most fearful and
unpardonable sin. I felt such a clogging and heat at my
stomach, by reason of this my terror, that I was especially
at some times, as if my breast bone would have split
asunder." But with "the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God," he at last gave Satan such a deadly
thrust that he left him. Like Job, Paul, Madam Guyon,
and others, Bunyan went through fiery trials; and then
the Scriptures, "I have loved thee with an everlasting
love," " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from
all sin," and " My grace is sufficient for thee," brought
sweet peace to his soul^

Bunyan's complete deliverance from his dreadful doubts
and despair came one day while he was passing through
a field. Suddenly the sentence fell upon his soul, '" Thy
righteousness is in heaven/' By the eye of faith he seemed
to see Jesus, his righteousness, at God's right hand. He
says, " Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed ; I was
loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also
fled away; so that, from that time, tl'^ose dreadful Script-
ures of God left off to trouble me! now went I also home
rejoicing, for the grace and love of God." On reaching
home he tried to find the text, ''Thy righteousness is in
heaven," and was somewhat discouraged to find that it was
not in the Scriptures. But his joy was restored and deep-:
ened when he found the similar text, *' But of him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctlfication, and redemption." (i Con
1:30).

Bunyan still had many conflicts and trials, but after
the above experience he seems to have been passing through

ti

JOHN BUNYAN 151

Beulah Land. Sometimes he was so overwhelmed with the
sense of God's grace and power that he could hardly bear
up under it He soon began to preach in little meetings,
and people were deeply convicted of sin and wept tears
of penitence. The Lord gave him " an awakening word,"
and so many were brought to Qirist under his preaching
that he was astonished that the Lord should thus use him.
He became very famous as a preacher, but his plain speak-
ing roused mudi opposition. The story of his twelve years'
imprisonment for holding meetings separate from the Es-
tablished Qiurch of England, and of the writing of his
famous books while in prison, does not belong to a nar-
rative of this kind. He had only the Bible and Fox's
Book of Martyrs" with him in prison when he wrote
Pilgrim's Progress." He was frequently allowed his lib-
erty, and sometimes used it in preaching the Gospel. After
his release he traveled and preached in many places, and
was so popular that he was nicknamed ''Bishop Bunyan."
King Charles was surprised that the learned Dr. Owen
would go to hear " an illiterate tinker " preach. " I would
gladly give up all my learning for that tinker's power of
preaching," said Dr. Owen. Being told one time that he had
preached a grand sermon, Bunyan replied, " Aye, you have
no need to tell me that; for the devil whispered it to me
before I was well out of the pulpit." He became one of
England's most famous men; but in the midst of his re-
ligious activity he was smitten with a fever while on an
errand of mercy, and died August 31, 1688. He was
buried in Bunhill Fields, London's famous Non-Conform-
ist cemetery, where tens of thousands of people have
visited his grave.

Lordt I Come Pleading.

1. Lord. 1 coma pleiding And pray-ing (o thee, Seek-mg mI - ta-tiooio

2. OUd*ly I give Tboe Df will And my all; Self and poa-aetHiooi ara

3. Coma.bleiied 8pir-it.aiid dweO Tboo with-in, 8aac • ti - (f .purge me. aod

4. I am be«lief-iBg — by faith I cao aee Tboo beat ac-eept-ed my

foQ and io free, Hoag'riog and thint-iiig Thy fol • oeei (o know,
Thme at Thy call; Wber-e*er Thy Spir • it doth lead I wouki go;
deauemefromiiii; Grant me for aerv ice the pow*r irom on high.
off**riog to Thee; Sweet • It I rest hi Thine in-fb-ite lore.

Waah me and I ihaD be whit • er than now,

Lord, now Thy fol • new of bleei-higi be • stow. Lord I come

Lord, to the work! aod the flesh let me die.

Peaee now comes in like a beaf-«o • Ij dote.

■a •»« • unrnwrn* - •/ uvvv. ^

Oi|ViliM.ltM.lfAtkliVM

Ffom <*Grcat Eevtral Hyant.'

^ffffp-tf7:f:p 3 l

John Wesubt

JOHN WESLEY

The life and teachings of John Wesley, the famous
founder of Methodism, have probably had a greater influ-
ence than those of any other man since the days of the
apostles in deepening the spiritual life of tfie present time.
The Introduction to the Methodist book of Discipline states
that Methodism was raised up under God " for the spread
of Scriptural holiness." Like a mighty conflagration it
swept over the world until in less than two centuries it
nmabered more adherents than almost any other Protes-
tant church. The secret of its success was partly owing to
the fact that its theology presented a less fatalistic view
of salvation than did that of the Old School Calvinism so
common among other Protestant denominations; but it
probably owed its success still more to the deep spiritual
experiences of the Wesleys and the other early Methodist
preachers, many of whom were so anointed with the Holy
Spirit's power that multitudes were brought under convic-
tion of sin while listening to their earnest sermons and ex-
hortations. People often trembled and shook, and many
were even stricken down in the meetings, under the over-
whelming sense of their sins received under the preaching
of these men of God.

Wesley's great-grandfather his grand-father, and his
father were all clergymen in the Church of England, in

155

IS6 JOHN WESLEY

which church Wesley was himself an ordained minister
and remained such until his death, the Methodist Societies
in Britain not having become an independent church until
1791, or two years after he died. Susannah Wesley, the
mother of John and Charles Wesley, was the daughter of
the great Dr. Annesley, the " St. Paul of Non-Conformity."
Her grandfather, as well as her father, were ministers of
the gospel, and she was herself famous for her piety and
prudence. John Wesley was bom at Epworth, in Lincoln-
shire, England, on June 17, 1703, and was the fifteenth in
a family of nineteen children, of whom only ten survived
the period of infancy. At the age of six John himself was
barely rescued from the flames when his father's rectory
burned down.

Wesley's mother was very careful in the training of
the children, and they were all brought up '' in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord." They also received a good
secular education. John was educated at the Charter
House School, in London, until he was seventeen years of
age, at which time he was sent to Christ Church College,
Oxford University. He was a diligent student and made
great progress in his studies. At the age of twenty-three
his accomplishments in the classics were so great that he
was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, and was also chosen
as moderator of classes, and the following year he was
made a Master of Arts. Before leaving Oxford Univer-
sity he seems to have become proficient in Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, French, and logic, and he afterwards obtained a
knowledge of German.

Wesley followed the pious advice of his father and
mother until after he was ten years of age, without con-
sciously disobeying them in any way. "The next six or
seven years were spent at school/' says he. " where, out-

JOHN WESLEY iST

ward restraints being removed, I was much more negligent
than before, even to outward duties, and ahnost continu-
ally guilty of outward sins, which I knew to be such,
though they were not scandalous in the eyes of the world.
However, I still read the Scriptures, and said my prayers,
morning and evening." He relied for salvation on these
outward acts, and on church-going, and also on the fact
that he was not as bad as others. After going to Oxford,
for about five years, he constantly did things that he knew
were sinful in the sight of God; but he still continued to
pray, read his Bible, and go to church. At about twenty-
two years of age his eyes were opened to some extent by
reading the works of Thomas a Kempis, and he b^[an to
see that true religion had to do with the heart, and not
with outward actions only. ''I was, however, angry at
Kempis for being too strict," says he. But he also says:
''Yet I frequently had much sensible comfort in reading
him, such as I was an utter stranger to before ; and meet-
ing likewise with a religious friend, which I never had till
now, I b^ian to alter the whole form of my conversation,
and to set in earnest upon a new life." Dr. Taylor's book,
" Holy Living and Dying," made a still deeper impression
upon him, and his life became a very sincere one.

Wesley's friends now urged him to be ordained, and
in 1725, in his twenty-second year, after much prayer and
consideration, he was ordained by Bishop Potter. In 1727
he read Mr. Law's "Christian Perfection" and "Serious
Call," and these books made him resolve more than ever
to be wholly the Lord's. The writings of Mr. Law seem
to have influenced his life more than any other writings
outside the Scriptures, just as the works of Aquinas influ-
enced the life of Savonarola. It was probably Mr. Law's
books, more than any other human cause, which led Wes-

IS8 JOHN WESLEY

ley to start the Methodist Societies. In a letter to Mr.
Morgan, written in later years, he thus describes the found-
ing of the first Methodist Society : " In November, 1729,
at which time I came to reside at Oxford, your son, my
brother, myself and one more, agreed to spend three or
four evenings a week together. Our design was to read
over the classics, which we had before read in private on
common nights, and on Simday some book on divinity. In
the summer following Mr. M. told me he had called at a
gaol, to see a man who was condemned for killing his wife ;
and that, from a talk he had with one of the debtors, he
verily believed it would do much good, if any one would
be at the pains of now and then speaking with them. This
he so frequently repeated, that on the 24th of August, 1730,
my brother and I walked with him to the castle. We
were so well satisfied with our conversation there, that
we agreed to go thither once or twice a week; which we
had not done long, before he desired me to go with him
to see a poor woman in the town who was sick. In this
employment too, when we came to reflect upon it, we be-
lieved it would be worth while to spend an hour or two
in a week, provided the minister of the parish, in which
such persons were, were not against it." In this humble
manner the first Methodist society was formed, and the
great founder of Methodism was thus led to engage in
active Qiristian service. The society thus formed increased
in numbers, and when Whitefield joined them there were
fifteen members. They soon earned the nickname of the
" Holy Qub," and finally of " Methodists." It is remark-
able that God brought together in this little group two of
the world's greatest preachers and one of the greatest
hymn-writers — John Wesley, George Whitefield, and

JOHN WESLEY 159

Charles Wesley. The society continued its good work un-
til 1735, when Wesley left the University.

In 1735 John and Qiarles Wesley sailed for America,
intending to become missionaries to the American Indians.
On the vessel were a number of Moravian missionaries, and
their pious conduct so deeply impressed Wesley that he
began to study German so that he would be able to con-
verse with them. A great storm arose, and while the Eng-
lish were screaming and in great distress, and Wesley's
heart failed him, the Moravians calmly and joyfully united
in prayer and praise. Conversations with these godly
people during the voyage, and in Georgia, led the Wesleys
to doubt their own conversion to Christ.

The Wesleys seem to have accomplished very little in
Georgia. They tried to bring the people to their own high
standard of living, and preached against the popular sins
with such directness and personality as to provoke much
opposition, and they finally deemed it wise to return to
England. Charles returned first and John soon followed.
He says: "I shook oflf the dust of my feet, and left Georgia,
after having preached the gospel there (not as I ought, but
as I was able) one year and nearly nine months." Dur-
ing the voyage home, he wrote, " I went to America to
convert the Indians ; but oh ! who shall convert me I " He
reached England the day after Whitefield sailed for Amer-
ica. He preached in England in many places, but the re-
sults, as a rule, were not remarkable or encouraging. Much
opposition was provoked and but little blessing seemed
to attend his preaching. He conversed much with Peter
Bohler and other Moravians, and was surprised when they
proved to him that almost all the conversions to Christ
mentioned in the Bible were instantaneous. He now be-
gan to see that people do not grow into salvation, but that

i6o JOHN WESLEY

they are justified by faith the moment fhey believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ. It was from the Moravians that the
Methodists learned the doctrine of instantaneous conver-
sion, regeneration, or justification by faith. At first Charles
Wesley opposed what he called "the new doctrine," but
he was soon convinced of. his error, and in May, 1738,
through simple faith in Christ, he found a joy he had never
known before. The news that Charles bad obtained joy
and peace in believing greatly deepened John Wesley's
desire for a real assurance of salvation. After a ten years'
struggle to find peace and rest in Christ, the light began
to dawn upon him on May 24, 1738. In the morning of
that day his eyes fell upon 2 Peter 1 4, and then on the
words, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God."
During the day he was on the vei:ge of receiving rest and
joy through faith in Christ. "In the evening," says he,
" I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street,
where one was reading Luther's preface to the Romans.
About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the
change God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I
felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in
Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given
me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and
saved me from the law of sin and death."

The same year that he obtained this blessing through
faith in Christ, he visited the Moravian settlement of
Hernhuth, on Count Zinzendorf 's estate, in Germany. This
visit greatly strengthened his faith, and he returned to
England to preach with a new zeal, the doctrine of in-
stantaneous conversion and justification through faith in
Christ. Many were now converted to Christ in his meet-
ings almost everywhere that he went.

We learn from his Journal of October 151 1738, and

JOHN WESLEY i6l

again from the entry made on October 3 of the same year,
that Wesley had a great longing for a still deeper ex-
perience. " I was asking/' he says in the latter entry, '' that
God would fulfil all His promises in my own soul/' etc.
His longings seem to have been satisfied, in a measure at
least, in a memorable love feast in London, when he and
Whitefield and other prominent Methodist ministers were
present at a union meeting of the Methodist societies.
Describing this meeting in his Journal, Wesley says:
"'Monday, January i, 1739. Mr. Hall, Kinchin, Ingham,
Whitefield, Hutchins, and my brother Charles were pres-
ent at our lovefeast in Fetterslane, with about sixty of
our brethren. About three in the morning, as we were
continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came
mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for ex-
ceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we
recovered a little from the awe and amazement at the
presence of His majesty, we broke out with one voice, * We
praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the
Lord.' "

Wesley must have received a powerful anointing of
the Spmt at the time mentioned above, as after the ex-
perience described he seems to have preached with greater
unction and power. The Methodist societies now hegsai
to multiply rapidly, many souls being converted to God.
The State Churches were closing rapidly against the Meth-
odists, when Whitefield heg^n to preach to gigantic audi-
ences in the open air at Bristol. He had returned from
America in 1739, and was now working in harmony with
the Wesleys. After continuing in Bristol for some time,
he desired John Wesley to come and take the work there
off his hands so that he could go elsewhere. After seeking

to know the Lord's will in the matter, Wesley complied
11

i63 JOHN WESLEY

with his request. Staid Churchman that he was, he had
many misgivings about the propriety of preaching in the
open air; but when he saw Whit^eld preaching to the
great muhitudes in the open air at Bristol, his prejudices
gradually melted away. He says, " I could scarce recon-
cile myself at first to this strange way of preaching in the
fields, of which he (Whitefidd) set me an example on Sun-
day; having been all my life (till very lately) so tenacious
of every point relating to decency and order, that I should
have thought the saving of souls almost a sin, if it had not
been done in a church."

It was only after witnessing the marvellous results at^
tending Whitefield's preaching; in the open air that Wes-
ley b^[an to speak in open-air meetings, but he soon be-
came famous as an open-air preacher. Until the day of
his death he exercised the greatest care to have everything
'' done decendy and in order," and to avoid all fleshly ex-
citements, hallucinations, and delusions; but on the other
hand he was careful to encourage every genuine work of
the Holy Spirit. '' Quench not the Spirit " was to him a
solemn warning which he scrupulously and conscientiously
tried to follow.

Wesley preached for some time in Bristol, to immense
audiences sometimes numbering many thousands of people.
His open-air meetings were as large, if not larger, than
those of Whitefield. Powerful conviction of sin rested
upon the people, and multitudes turned to Christ Three
weeks after the remarkable love-feast experience in Lon-
don, while Wesley was preaching in Bristol, ''a well-
dressed, middle-aged woman suddenly cried out, as in the
agonies of death. She continued to do so for some ^mt^
says Wesley, "with all the signs of the sharpest anguisbi
of spirit." She was finally able to *^ rejoice in the Lord,

JOHN WESLEY 163

and joy in the God of her salvation." On April 17, 1739^
there was another remarable case of coviction of sin, in
Bristol. Wesley had just expounded Acts 4, on the power
of the Holy Spirit. "We then called upon God to con-
firm His Word/' says lie. " Immediately one that stood
by (to our no small surprise) cried out aloud, with the
utmost vehemence, even as the agonies of death. But we
continued in prayer, till * a new song was put in her mouthy
a tfianksgiving unto our God.' Soon after, two other per-
sons (well known in this place, as laboring to live in all
good conscience towards all men) were seized with strong
pain, and constrained to roar for the disquietness of their
heart.'' These also found peace. Many other wonderful
cases of conviction of sin attended Wesley's preaching.
It was a frequent occurrence for people to cry aloud or
fall down as if dead in the meetings, so great was their
anguish of heart, caused, no doubt, by the Holy Spirit
convicting them of sin. It is a well known fact that great
and sudden emotion of any kind will often cause people
to faint away. This fact doubtless accounts for people
dropping down as if dead in revival and other meetings.
The sudden realization of the enormity of their sins and
of the doom of the impenitent, when the Spirit of God
convicts them of sin, is so great that it absorbs all their
mental faculties and they lose control of themselves and
faint away. Instances of this kind were frequently re-
corded by Wesley. On April 21, 1739, at Weavers Hall,
Bristol, " a young man was suddenly seized with a violent
trembling all over, and, in a few minutes, the sorrows of
his heart being enlarged, sunk down to the ground." He
also found peace. On the 25th day of the same months
while Wesley was preaching, "Immediately one, and an-

I64 JOHN WESLEY

other, and another sunk to the earth ; they dropped on every
side as if thunderstruck."

Day after day Wesley preached to immense audiences
in Bristol and Bath and suburbs of those cities. He then
went to other places, preaching with the same unction and
power, and many Methodist societies sprang up as a result
of his and Whitefield's preaching. Many found fault with
the outcries of those brought under conviction of sin. De-
scribing one meeting, Wesley says : " My voice could scarce
be heard amidst the groanings of scmie, and the cries of
others, calling aloud to ' Him that is mighty to save.' " He
says, " A Quaker who stood by, was not a little displeased
at the dissimulation of these creatures, and was biting his
lips and knitting his brows, when he dropped down as
thunder-struck.'' Next day, in a little prayer-meeting,
" Just as we rose from giving thanks," says Wesley, " an-
other person reeled four or five steps, and then dropped

down." A certain J H , a zealous Episcopalian,

opposed the Methodists in every way possible, and went
to his acquaintances persuading them that people falling in
the meetings and crying out in agony was '' a delusion of
the Devil." While sitting at the table one day, " he changed
color, fell off his chair, and began screaming terribly, and
beating himself against the ground."

Almost everywhere that Wesley went people were
stricken down in his meetings in the manner already de-
scribed, but these cases were the exception, and they usu-
ally found peace in Christ when prayed for. Most of the
people had never heard such pointed and powerful preach-
ing as Wesley's and the suddenness with which they were
brought face to face with their sinful and lost condition
probably had much to do with the fact that many of them
swooned away or cried out in agony. People who had en-

JOHN WESLEY ift

tertained £alse hopes of salvation had the masks torn away
by the plain preaching of Wesley, and were stricken with
great agony until they found peace with God. In one
place where he was preaching, the Lord began to make
bare His arm, and, "One and another, and another was
struck to the earth; exceedingly trembling at the presence
of His power. Others cried with a loud and bitter cry,
' What must we do to be saved ? ' " The same evening,
while Wesley was preaching, a man cried out in agony of
soul. Soon after, "Another person dropped down close
to one who was a strong asserter of the contrary doctrine.
While he stood astonished at the sight, a little boy near him
was seized in the same manner. A young man, who stood
up behind, fixed his eyes on him, and sunk down himself
as one dead.''

The plain and fearless preaching of Wesley caused
much opposition, and he was often mobbed smd came near
losing his life. But in the meetings, " The power of God
came with His word ; so that none scoffed, or interrupted,
or opened his mouth.'' The scoffing and persecution came
from those who had never been in the meetings or heard
Wesley preach.

On his return to London, Wesley preached at Wapping,
and twenty-six people were stricken down under convic-
tion of sin. "Some sunk down and there remained no
strength in them," says he, "others exceedingly trembled
and quaked; some were torn with a kind of convulsive mo-
tion in every part of their bodies." Wesley had seen many
hysterical and many epileptic fits, " but none of them were
like these in many respects," says he. "I immediately
prayed, ' That God wduld not suffer those who were weak
to be offended.' But one woman was offended greatly;
being sure, 'they might help it if they would; no one

1(56 JOHN WESLEY

should persuade her to the contrary ; ' and was got three
or four yards, when she also dropped down, in as violent
an agony as the rest/'

In London Wesley preached in the open air to vast au-
diences of many thousands of people, as Whitefidd and
he had done in Bristol; and he afterwards held similar
great out-door meetings all over Britain. Even when rain
was falling or biting frost was on the ground, he sometimes
preached to many thousands in the open air, and sometimes
the sermons were two or three hours long. When the doors
of his home church at Epworth were closed against him,
he preached standing on his father's tombstone in the
church-yard with an immense crowd around him. He often
spoke with great liberty and power when preaching in these
open-air meetings. On December 23, 1744, while preach-
ing at Snow-Fields, " I found," says he, " Such light and
strength as I never remember to have had before. I had
often wondered at myself (and sometimes mentioned it
to others), that ten thousand caVes of various kinds were
no more weight to my mind than ten thousand hairs were
to my head." When worn out with overwork he often
found new strength in answer to prayer. Writing concern-
ing one of these occasions he says, " I then thought, ' Can-
not God heal either man or beast by any means, or without
any.' Immediately my weariness and head-ache ceased, and
my horses' lameness in the same instant " (Journal, March
17, 1740).

Wesley was a great organizer and a strict disciplinarian.
He expelled from the Methodist Societies everyone who
was frivolous or trifling. He expelled them by the scores.
He insisted upon modesty in dress, in abstinence from
worldly amusements, and on daily holy living. It was his
desire to have no one in the Methodist Societies except

JOHN WESLEY i^

such as would adorn them by holy and consistent living.
Concerning the Society at Epworth he wrote, "The So-
ciety here is not large, but God has wrought upon the
whole place; sabbath-breaking and drunkenness are no
more seen in the streets; cursing and swearing are rarely
heard."

Both John and Charles Wesley, as well as the other
early Methodist preachers, were strong advocates of the
doctrine of entire and instantaneous sanctification through
faith. In his Works, Volume VII., Wesley says; "Many
years since, I saw that without holiness no man shall see
the Lord. I began by following after it and inciting all
with whom I had any intercourse to do the same. Ten
years after, God gave me a clearer view than I had before
of the way how to attain it, namely, by faith in the Son of
God. And immediately I declared to all, 'We are saved
from sin, we are made holy by faith. This I testified in
private, in public, in print, and God confirmed it by 2l thou*
sand witnesses/'

In his Journal, September 28, 1762, Wesley says:
" Many years ago my brother frequently said, * Your day
of Pentecost is not fully come ; but I doubt not it will ; and
you will then hear of persons sanctified, as frequently as
you do now of persons justified.' Any unprejudiced reader
may observe, that it was now fully come. And accordingly
we did hear of persons sanctified in London, and most other
parts of England ; and in Dublin, and in many other parts
of Ireland as frequently as of persons justified, although
instances of the latter were far more frequent than they
had been for twenty years before."

Wesley's famous sermon on "Christian Perfection"
was first published in 1733, and was often reprinted by him,
without alteration, in later years. Deeming it complete, he

168 JOHN WESLEY

simply reprinted it. Some have thought that he changed
his mind with r^;ard to the doctrine of " Christian Per-
fection," but in his Journal, in 1778, he wrote, " Forty
years ago I knew and preached every Christian doctrine
which I preach now." In his Journal, of June 19 and 26,
July 3, and August 4, 1762, and in numerous other places,
he tells of persons being sanctified. In his Journal of De-
cember 29, 1766, he says: "At five in the morning I again
began a course of sermons on 'Christian Perfection,' if
haply that thirst after it might return, which was so general
a few years ago. Since that time how deeply have we
grieved the Spirit of God! Yet two or three have lately
received His pure love and a few more are brought to the
birth." In his Journal, June 2y, 1769, he defines what he
means by " Christian Perfection ;" and in his Works, Vol-
ume IX., he explains his ideas concerning " Inbred," or
" Original," Sin, and its eradication. In his Journal, No-
vember I, 1762, he wrote concerning the views of a certain
individual, " I like your doctrine of perfection, or pure
love; love excluding sin. Your insisting that it is merely
by faith ; that consequently it is instantaneous, (though pre-
ceded and followed by a gradual work), and that it may
be now, at this instant.

** But I dislike your supposing man may be as perfect
as an angel ; that he can be absolutely perfect ; that he can
be infallible or above being tempted ; or, that the moment
he is pure in heart he cannot fall from it.

'' I dislike the saying. This was not known or taught
among us till within two or three years. I grant you did
not know it. You have over and over denied instantan-
eous sanctification to me; but I have known and taught it
(and so has my brother, as our writings show) above these
twenty years.*'

JOHN WESLBT 169

In his Journal, May 14, 1765, Wesley explains how he
came to believe in the doctrine of " Christian Perfection/'
and what he believed the experience to be. He says : " But
how came this opinion into my mind? I will tell you with
all simplicity. In 1725 I met with Bishop Taylor's ' Rules
of Holy Living and Dying.' I was struck particularly with
the chapter on intention, and felt a fixed intention to give
myself up to God. In this I was much confirmed soon
after by the Christian Pattern, and longed to give God all
my heart. This is just what I mean by Perfection now.
I sought after it from that hour.

" In 1727 I read Mr. Law's * Christian Perfection ' and
' Serious Call,' and more explicitly resolved to be all devoted
to God, in body, soul, and spirit. In 1730, I began to be
homo unius libri; to study (comparatively) no book but
the Bible. I then saw in a stronger light than ever before,
that only one thing is needful, even faith that worketh by
the love of God and man, all inward and outward holiness,
and I groaned to love God with all my heart, and to serve
Him with all my strength.

"January i, 1733, I preached the sermon on the circum-
cision of the heart; which contains all that I now teach
concerning salvation from all sin, and loving God with an
undivided heart. In the same year I printed, (the first
time I ventured to print anything), for the use of my
pupils, ' A Collection of Forms of Prayer ; ' and in this I
spoke explicitly of giving 'the whole heart and the whole
life to God.' This was then as it is now, my idea of Per-
f ection, though I should have started at the word.

" In 1735, I preached my Farewell Sermon, at Epworth,
in Lincolnshire. In this likewise I spoke with the utmost
deamess of having one design, one desire, one love, and

170 JOHN WESLEY

of pursuing the one end of our life in all our words and ac-
tions.

" In January, 1738, I expressed my desires in these
words :

O grant that nothing in my soul
May dwell but Thy pure love alone ;

O may Thy love possess me whole,
My joy, my treasure and my crown

Strange flames far from my heart remove ;
My every act, word, thought be love.

** I am still persuaded that this is what the Lord Jesus
hath bought me with His blood."

Wesley was almost constantly traveling and preaching.
"The world is my parish " was his famous motto. In
1774 he wrote that he never travelled less than 4,500 miles
a year. For many a year his annual record was 8,000 miles,
and during this period he seldom preached less than 5,000
times a year. He traveled as an itinerant preacher, after
he was 36 years of age, 225,000 miles, and preached more
than 40,000 sermons, some of them to congregations of
above 20,000 people. He rose at four o'clock in the morn-
ing and preached at five nearly every day.

In 1789 Wesley's sight and strength were pretty well
exhausted and he felt that he was " an old man ;" but he
continued to preach and write until within a few days of
his death. With the power of God manifestly present, he
expired triumphantly on March 2, 179 1, his dying testimony
being : " Best of all, God is with us."

George Whitepield

GEORGE WHITEFIELD

The name of George Whiteiield, the prince of open-air
preachers, will ever rank high among those of great soul-
winners. Perhaps no preacher was ever gifted with a more
powerful voice for open air work, or ever preached to
larger out-door congr^;ations than did Whitefield. It is
estimated that he preached to a hundred thousand persons
at Cambuslang, in Scotland, and that ten thousand persons
professed conversion to Christ as the result of his sermon.
Although frail in body and having weak lungs, God seemed
to endow him with supernatural strength for open air work
at a time when church doors were closed against him. Ben-
jamin Franklin claimed to have tested the voice of White-
field to find out how far he could hear him distinctly, and
he heard him clearly for over a mile.

Whitefield's grandfather was a clergyman in the Qiurch
of England, but his father was a wine merchant and inn-
keeper. George was bom in 1714. He was the youngest
of a family of seven — six sons and a daughter. His father
died when he was an infant, and his mother — ^like the
mother of Mr. Moody — ^was left to struggle through pov-
erty with a large family. When four years old George had
the measles, which through neglect left one of his lively
dark blue eyes with a slight squint. This, however, did
not mar the charm of his countenance.

His early life was stained with lying, cheating, evil
speaking, small thefts, and other juvenile sins. In this he

173

174 GEORGE WHITEFIELD

much resembled the celebrated Saint Augustine. He would
sometimes run into the dissenting meeting-house during
services and shout the name of the worthy minister — " Old
Cole! old Cole! old Cole! " and then he was off in a hurry.
A member of the same chapel once asked him what he
intended to be. '* A minister/' said he, '' but I would take
care never to tell stories in the pulpit like the old Cole/'
he added. The worthy old minister afterwards rejoiced to
hear Whitefield relate anecdotes and incidents with a vivid-
ness and power far exceeding his own capabilities.

Whitefield was a wild, unrestrained lad. His mother
tried to keep him from taking part in the business, but he
sometimes sold drinks over the counter and kept the money.
" It would be endless/' says he, " to recount the sins and
offences of my younger days." He had many good thoughts
and compunctions of conscience. Thus, he did not use all
the money he stole from his mother, but gave scmie of it
to the poor. Among the books that he stole from others
were devotional books as well as books of romance — ^he
afterwards restored them fourfold. He was very high-
tempered, and once when some persons, who took pleasure
in exasperating him, had greatly provoked him, he went to
his room and on his knees, with tears in his eyes, prayed
over the iiSth Psalm. He was familiar with the Bible, and
although he ridiculed sacred things, he was fond of the
thought of some day being a clergyman, and he frequently
imitated the clergyman's manner of reading prayers, or in-
toning them in the manner so common at that time.

In the Church of St. Mary de Crypt, Gloucester, White-
field was christened as a baby, made fun as a boy of ten,
and preached his first sermon as a deacon at the age of
twenty-one. When he was ten years of age his mother
married again, but this does not seem to have improved

GEORGE WHITEFIELD X7S

fheir condition, financially at least. At the common school
of St. Mary de Crypt, young Whitefield's memory and
elocutionary powers won him great distinction in the am-
ateur theatricals of which he was very fond. At fifteen
years of age he gave up the common school and commenced
helping his mother in the housework at Bell Inn. In the
evenings he often read his Bible and even composed several
sermons. Finally his brother took charge of the inn, and
George could not agree with the sister-in-law, and so left
and went to another brother's in Bristol. Here he first
felt the power of God's Spirit working upon his heart. He
felt a great longing for the things of God. After two
months he returned home and these convictions and long-
ings left him. His mother gave him the best she could-—
a bed on the floor. No business seemed to open up for him,
and one day he said to his sister, ** Sister, God intends some-
thing for me that we know not of." His mother also seems
to have had presentiments of his coming greatness.

After remaining idle for scmie time he found that there
was opportunity for him to work his way, as a servitor,
through Oxford University. He went to school again to
prepare for Oxford, and was led off into atheism by sinful
companions. This did not last long, and he finally made
up his mind to prepare to take communion on his seven-
teenth birthday. A dream about God, and a powerful im-
pression that he was to preach the gospel seem to have
greatly sobered him. A brother also gave him a straight
talk about his rapid changes from saint to sinner and from
sinner to saint

In 1732, when eighteen years of age, he went to Ox-
ford. At Oxford, to his great delight and after long de-
siring it, he was taken into the band of "Methodists,"
which then numbered fifteen. A book entitled " The Life

176 GEORGE WHITEFIELD

of God in the Soul of Man/' loaned to him by Charles Wes-
ley, opened Whitefield's eyes to see that outward works
and outward forms and ceremonies would not save the soul.
When he read that " true religion is an union of the soul
with God, or Christ formed within us," a ray of light in-
stantaneously darted in upon his soul, and from that mo-
ment, but not till then, did he know that he must be a new
creature. He was "bom of God" long before the Wes-
leys, his devout companions, were brought out into the clear
light of the new birth. He wrote his acquaintances con-
cerning his conversion, and they charitably supposed him
to be insane. He shared great persecution with others of
the "Holy Club," or "Methodists." The contempt and
shame he suffered at Oxford helped to prepare him for
the still greater persecutions of his later life.

Owing to the fact that the Wesleys did not yet under-
stand regeneration, or the new birth, Whitefield got his
eyes off Christ, and began once more to look to externa}
works for salvation. He went through many sore trials
and temptations, and spent whole days and nights in fast-
ing and prayer for " deliverance " from the proud, hellish
thoughts that used to crowd into his soul." He says, " I
never ceased wrestling with God till He blessed me with
victory over them." Before obtaining victory through
faith, he sought it by means of severe fasting, eating coarse
food, dressing poorly, and by practising other severe aus-
terities and penances. He prayed one night out under a
tree in the coldest weather, and he lived for some time on
sage tea, without sugar, and coarse bread. Finally his
austerities so weakened his body that he could scarcely
creep upstairs. The Wesleys could hdp him but little,
but after seven weeks of self-centered seeking his eyes
were once more directed to Christ as his Saviour, and

GEORGE WHITEFIELD 177

peace and joy returned to his soul. He says, " But oh! with
what joy, joy unspeakable, even joy that was full of, and
big with, g^ory, was my soul filled, when the weight
of sin went off ; and an abiding sense of the pardoning love
of God, and a full assurance of faith broke in upon my
disconsolate soul! Ever afterwards he seems to have had
clearer views concerning salvation through faith, and he
was soon the means of leading several of his companions
into the experience of tbe new birth, both at Gloucester and
Oxford.

He now began joyfully to read the Word of God, to
visit the sick, and to perform other services for the Master.
Soon his friends urged him to be ordained. His great
humility led him to decline, but being patient and flexible
in all matters regarding himself, though firm as a rock in
matters of conviction, he was persuaded to go through the
ceremony of ordination. As he had previously dreamed,
the bishop sent for him and received him kindly, and made
him a present of some gold, and informed him that though
he had previously made up his mind not to ordain any one
under three-and-twenty years, still he was willing to or-
dain him whenever he desired it.

It was at the moment of his ordination that Whitefield
seems to have made a complete consecration of himself to
God and to have received the anointing of the Spirit and
power which made him so mighty a worker in God's har-
vest field. It was on June 20, 1736, at the age of twenty-
one, diat he was ordained by the good Bishop of Glou-
cester, Dr. Benson. In " Account of God's Dealings," Sec-
tion IV., Whitefield thus describes what be experienced at
that time:

"About three days before the time appointed for my

ordination the Bishop came to town. The next day I sent
It

178 GEORGE WHITEPIELD

his lordship an abstract of my private examination on
these two questions, ' Do you trust that you are inwardly
moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this office and
administration?' And, 'Are you called according to the
will of the Lord Jesus Christ and the laws of this realm?'
The next morning I waited on the bishop. He received
me with much love, telling me, he was glad I was come;
that he was satisfied with the preparation I had made, and
with the allowance given me by Sir John Phillips. ' I had
myself,' said he, 'made provision for you of two little
parishes, but since you choose to be at Oxford, I am very
well pleased. I doubt not but you will do much good.'

" Upon this I took my leave, abashed with God's good-
ness to such a wretch, but withal exceedingly rejoiced, that
in every circumstance he made my way into the ministry
so very plain before my face I

" This, I think, was on Friday. The day following I
continued in abstinence and prayer. In the evening I re-
tired to a hill near the town, and prayed fervently for about
two hours, in behalf of myself and those that were to be
ordained with me.

"On Sunday morning I rose early, and prayed over
St. Paul's epistle to Timothy, and more particularly over
that precept, ' Let no man despise thy youth.' When I went
up to the altar, I could think of nothing but Samuel's
standing a little child before the Lord with a linen ephod.
When the bishop laid his hands upon my head, my heart
was melted down, and I offered my whole spirit, soul, and
body, to the service of God's sanctuary! I read the gos-
pel, at the bishop's command, with power, and afterwards
sealed the good confession I had made before many wit-
nesses, by partaking of the holy sacrament of our Lord's
most Uessed body and blood . . . . "

GEORGE WHITEPIELD 179

That God really touched the lips of Whitefield with the
divine fire of His Holy Spirit at the time of his ordination
seems proved by die fact that he b^;an to preach with
great unction and power on the next Sunday after his or-
dination. His first sermon was delivered to an immense
audience in his old home church at Gloucester. Complaint
was afterwards made to the bishop that fifteen people were
driven mad by this sermon. The good bishop replied that
he hoped that madness would not be forgotten before the
next Sunday.

After his ordination Whitefield returned to Oxford,
with great joy, to complete his course at the University.
While there he was invited to occupy a friend's pulpit for
two months in an obscure part of London. He accepted
the invitation, and although his youth provoked sneers at
first, great crowds flocked to hear him. At Oxford his
rooms were often filled with praying students. He left
the university full of fervor, zeal, and the constraining
power of the Holy Spirit. After preaching a few sermons
in England, with great unction and power, he sailed for
the United States. His few sermons in Bristol, just be-
fore he left England, stirred the whole city. On his sec-
ond visit, while waiting for his vessel to sail for America,
crowds of people flocked out to meet him on his way to
the city. Although he was only twenty-two years of age,
Bristol was completely under his spell. Quakers and Non-
conformists generally left their chapels to hear him preach.
Hic "new birth" preached with power from on high
seemed to attract all conditions of men. Every nook and
oomer of the church was crowded, and half the people
had to be turned away. Many wept bitterly when he left
the dty, as did the people of Gloucester when he left that
city. In London, while waiting for his vessel, he was com-

i8o GEORGE WHITEFIELD

pelled to preach, and the large churches would not hold
his audiences. Thousands went away for want of room.
On Sunday the streets were crowded with people going
to meeting long before the break of day. The stewards
could hardly carry the donations made for the orphanage
he hoped to start in America, so heavy and so many were
die large English pennies of that day, which formed the
bulk of the collections. Soon the clergy became jealous,
and bitter opposition set in against Whitefield, and churches
were closed against him.

About Christmas, 1737, he set sail for America, as weep-
ing crowds bade him farewell. He left the charity schools
of England £1,000 ($5,000) richer for his brief labors
lliere. All on board the vessel were greatly blessed by
his ministrations during the voyage.

When Whitefield reached his destination in Georgia he
had but little opportunity to preach to large crowds, as
two hundred people were a large conjgpregaton in the fron-
tier settlements. But he won his way to the hearts of
the people and scores were brought to Christ. He re-
turned to England in 1738, and began to work in co-oper-
ation with the Wesleys, who had been led out into the
light concerning regeneration, or the "new birth," during
his absence in America. God was greatly blessing them,
but their preaching was too plain to suit lukewarm, world-
ly, and fashionable churches, and the doors of these
churches were rapidly closing against them. Whitefield
preached in one church where a thousand people were
unable to get inside, and this suggested to him the idea
of outdoor preaching, but even his Methodist brethren at
that time regarded this as a "mad idea." Soon after this
the people were so deeply moved by his preaching that
they b^gan to say aloud "Amen " to many things that he

GEORGE WHITEFIELD i8i

said. This seems to have been a new thing in those days.

Excluded from many of the state churches, Whiteiield
hegaok his open-air preaching at Kingswood, Bristol, in
1739. There the rough coal miners gathered to hear him,
and his audiences doubled and trebled until he fotmd him-
self preaching to 20,000 people. Tears streamed down the
cheeks of the coal-begrimed men, and hundreds and hun-
dreds were convicted of sin and brought to Christ. White-
field had now left off using printed prayers and written
sermons, and prayed and preached extempore as he felt
led by the Spirit of God. Wherever he went, the people
flocked to hear him in such great crowds that the churches
would no longer have contained them, had they been open
to him. When farewelling from Bristol, the crowd was
so great at one of the Methodist Societies that he had to
leave by mounting a ladder and climbing over the tiling
of an adjoining house. Wesley continued the great work
b^^un by Whitefield in Bristol.

When evicted from a Church of England in London,
while preaching, Whitefield continued his sermon in the
church yard. He then began his open-air meetings at
Moorfidds, one of the largest, vilest, and most notorious
pleasure resorts in London. Great was the astonishment
of the London rowdies to see the tall, graceful young
clergyman, with mild blue eyes, and clad in gown and
cassock, standing on the wall addressing them on the sec-
ond coming of Christ. The same day he addressed a more
refined audience of 20,000 people on Kennington Common.
After this he continued to preach to great audiences of
from 20,000 to 40,000 in both of these places. It is said
that he received more than a thousand written requests for
prayer at one of his meetings at Moorfields. The singing
of the vast audiences could be heard for a distance of two
miles. When the people at Kennington Common heard

i82 GEORGE WHITEFIELD

that he was to leave for America, their weeping was so
loud as to almost drown his voice. A similar scene was
enacted at Moorfields. At Hackney Marsh he preached
at a horse race to about 10,000 people, and the horses got
but little attention.

On his second and subsequent trips to America, White-
field met with very great success. He preached to large
audiences, and won many souls to Christ. It was claimed
that every student in Harvard University professed con-
version to Christ during his meetings there. Benjamin
Franklin was deeply impressed with his preaching, and the
celebrated Jonathan Edwards wept while listening to his
sermons.

On his return to England he preached to great audi-
ences in the tabernacle built for him at Moorfields, and
also to vast audiences in many other parts of Britain. Per-
haps his greatest meeting was at Cambuslang, near Glas-
gow, Scotland, where he is said to have preadied to an
audience variously estimated at from 30,000 to 100,000
people. Many were bathed in tears for an hour and a
half while he was preaching, and it is claimed that ten
thousand persons professed conversion to Christ under this
sermon. All Britain seemed in a holy fervor over his
preaching. The Vicar of Bideford warned the people
against Whitefield's preaching one Sunday evening, but
next morning he preached to an audience of 10,000. Even
the nobility gladly sat at his feet, and thousands of people
would often stand in the rain listening to him.

The frailty of Whitefield's body was so great that the
marvelous range of his voice seemed almost supernatural
The clearness and range of his voice has probably never
been equaled by that of any other open-air preacher.

The vividness with which Whitefield preached seemed
to be almost supernatural. One time he was preachiof

GEORGE WHITEFIELD iSS

to saflors, and he described a vessel wrecked in a storm at
sea. He portrayed her as on her beam and just ready to
sink, and then he cried aloud, " What next?" The picture
was so real that the sailors sprang to their feet and cried out,
" The long boat ! Take the longboat I " At another time he
pictured a blind man walking towards the edge of a precipice
without knowing where he was going, until finally he was
right on the edge of the precipice. The portrayal was so
vivid and real that when he reached this point in his sermon,
Lord Chesterfield, who was present, sprang to his feet and
cried aloud, " My God ! he is gone ! '* Famous actors like
Garrick, Foote, and Shuter loved to hear Whitefield preach.
Garrick was so deeply impressed with the oratorical powers
of Whitefield that he declared he believed Whitefield could
make people weep by the mere enunciation of the word
Mesopotamia.

Whitefield was not a theologian by nature, and found
but little time for reading books. Most of the books he did
find time to read were of the old-school Calvinistic t3rpe so
prevalent at that time, and his mind became confirmed in the
Calvinistic views of theology. This led to a controversy
between him and the Wesleys, as the latter rejected the fa-
talistic teachings of old-school Calvinism. Their friendship
for each other continued, but Whitefield did not work in
such full accord and harmony with the Wesleys as before
the controversy. But both the Wesleys and Whitefield were
mightily used of God, each preaching the gospel with the
degree of light given to him. Whitefield probably did not
have so logical a mind as John Wesley. He was sometimes
accused of rambling in his sermons, and of not keeping to
his subject His reply to this was, ''If men will continue
to ramble like lost sheep, then I will continue to ramble
after them."

i84 GEORGE WHITEFIELD

Like Wesley, Whitefield was a strenuous worker. When
in his prime he seldom preached less than fifteen times a
week. It is estimated that he preached at least eighteen
thousand sermons, or an average of ten times a week for
thirty-four years. He often preached as many as four or
five times in one day.

After intensely longing to be with the Master for over
a score of years, he died in 1770, during his seventh visit
to America, having preached up to and on the day preceding
his death.

John Fletcher

JOHN FLETCHER

^'Fletdier was a saint, as unearthly a being as could
tread the earth at all," says Isaac Taylor, one of his con-
temporaries. "I conceive Fletcher to be the most holy man
who has been upon earth since the apostolic age." says Dr.
Dixon, one of the greatest Methodist preachers of Fletch-
er's day. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, pro-
nounced Fletcher the most unblameable man, in every re-
spect, that, within fourscore years, he had found in Europe
or America. He chose Fletcher as his successor in direct-
ing the Methodist Societies; but Fletcher though younger
than Wesley, was called to his eternal reward before
Wesley.

Remarkable as it may seem, Fletcher was not a native of
the country where he achieved so great fame as a writer and
preacher. Jean Guilliaume de la Flechere, for such was his
full name in his native tongue, was bom in Switzerland, his
home being on the shores of Lake Leman in one of the love-
liest spots in the world, not far from Geneva, the Jura and
Alps Mountains, the famous Castle of Chillon and Lau-
sanne. His parents belonged to the nobility and were highly
esteemed. Jean was bom in the year 1729.

Wesley states that in his childhood Fletcher had much
of the fear of God, and great tendemess of conscience. One
day, when he was about seven years of age, he had mis-
behaved, and his nurse said to him, "You are a naughty
boy. Do you know that the devil is to take away all

i«7

i88 JOHN FLETCHER

naughty children?" The maid's remark troubled him. He
began to pray and did not cease until he believed that God
had forgiven him. His conduct was very exemplary from
this on. Like Christmas Evans and many others, he had
many narrow escapes from death in his youth. Three
times he was almost drowned, and once he fell a long
distance, but landed on some soft mortar. God preserves
the lives of those whom He has chosen for some great
work.

Fletcher received a good education and took the high-
est honors in the University of Geneva. He then went to
Lentzburg to study German, Hebrew, and higher mathe-
matics.

From his earliest youth he felt a call to preach, but
afterwards he abandoned all hope of ever entering the
ministry. He says : " I think it was when I was seven
years of age, that I first began to feel the love of God
shed abroad in my heart, and that I resolved to give my-
self up to Him, and to the service of His Church, if ever
I should be fit for it; but the corruption which is in the
world, and that which was in my own heart, soon weak-
ened, if not erased, those first characters which grace had
written upon it." Later, he says, " I went through my
studies with a design of entering into orders; but, after-
wards upon serious reflections, feeling I was unequal to
so great a burden, and disgusted with the necessity I should
be under to subscribe to the doctrine of predestination, I
yielded to the desire of my friends, who would have me
go into the army."

It is remarkable that one bom in the stronghold of
Calvinism, as was Fletcher, should conceive so great a dis-
like for the principal doctrine of that system of theology,
and should become the greatest writer against the Calvin-
istic system of belief. Although one of so gentle a nature

JOHN FLETCHER 189

must have revolted at the thought of bloodshed and battle^
he chose to become a soldier rather than to preach the
doctrines his heart and mind could not endorse. He ac-
cepted a captain's commission to fight for Portugal against
Brazil, but an accident providentially prevented him from
engaging in actual warfare. Just before his ship sailed,
a serving maid let the tea kettle fall on his leg, and scalded
him so badly that he could not go. Thus the Lord de-
feated his purposes. Soon after this his uncle procured a
colonel's commission for him in the Dutch army. But
his uncle died, and peace was concluded, and the Lord
again defeated him in his purposes.

In 1752 Fletcher went to England to learn die English
language. He became tutor to the two sons of Thomas
Hill, Esq., of Shropshire. It was while thus employed
that he became soundly converted to God. A vivid dream
he had concerning the final judgment aroused him to see
the backslidden condition of his heart. " For some days,"
says he, '' I was so dejected and harassed in mind as to
be unable to apply myself to an}rthing. While in this
state he heard about the Methodists. He was told that
they were a people who did " nothing but pray," and that
they were 'Spraying all day and all night," and he re-
solved to find them. After hearing them he became more
and more conscious that some inward change was neces-
sary to make him happy." After hearing a preacher named
Green, he was convinced that he did not understand the
nature of saving faith, although he had received a pre-
mium in the university for his writings on theological and
divine subjects.

God opened his eyes more and more to his sinfulness
until he wrote in his diary, on January 12, 1755 : "All my
righteousness is as filthy rags. I am a very devil, though
of an inferior sort, and if I am not renewed before I go

100 JOHN FLETCHER

hence, hell will be my portion to all eternity." He
scribes how he went on sinning and repenting, and
ning again; but calling on God's mercy through Q]
"On January 21st/' says he, "I bq^an to write a
fession of my sins, misery, and helplessness, together
a resolution to seek Christ even unto death ; but, my 1
ness calling me away I had no heart to go on with
On Thursday, January 23, his fast-day, he was sc
tempted, and was so despondent that he almost gay<
all hope. " Having continued my supplication till near
in the morning," he says, " I then opened my Bible,
fell on these words, ' Cast thy burden on the Lord,
he shall sustain thee. He will not suffer the righteov
be moved.' Filled with joy, I fell again on my knee
beg of God that I might always cast my burden upon I
I took my Bible again, and fell on these words, ' I wii
with thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.' My hope
now greatly increased, and I thought I saw myself
queror over sin, hell, and all manner of affliction.

"With this beautiful promise I shut my Bible, an
I shut it I cast my eye on the words, ' Whatsoever ye !
ask in my name, I will do it.' So having asked perse
ance and grace to serve God till death, I went dieer:
to take my rest."

Such is the account of Fletcher's conversion to C
as related in his diary and gleaned from various lettei
his. His widow adds the following, written after his dc

" I subjoin what I have heard him speak concer
this time. He still pleaded with the Lord to take a f
possession of his heart, and to give a fuller manifests
of His love, till one day, when in earnest prayer and 1
prostrate on his face, he saw, with the eye of faith,
^viour on the cross, and at the same time these w
were spoken with power to his heart:

JOHN FLETCHER 1^1

^ • Seized by the rage of sinful men,

I see Christ bound, and bruis'd, and slain^
Tis done, the Martyr dies I
His life to ransom ours is given.
And lo ! the fiercest fire of heaven
Consumes the sacrifice.

^ * He suffers both from men and God«
He bears the universal load

Of guilt and misery !
He suffers to reverse our doom
And lol my Lord is here become
The bread of life to me.

** Now all his bands were broken. His freed soul be-
gan to breathe a purer air. Sin was beneath his feet. He
could triumph in the Lord. From this time he walked in
the ways of God, and, thinking he had not leisure enough
in the day, he made it a constant rule to sit up two whole
nights in the week for reading, prayer, and meditation.''

Fletcher was so humble and so unselfish diat he said
or wrote but little concerning himself, and it is difficult
therefore to give any detailed account of his deeper spir-
itual experiences. His writings, however, like those of
Wesley, abound with teaching concerning perfect love and
entire sanctification. Like Wesley, he believed that while
men are imperfect in knowledge and in many other ways,
it is possible for them to be perfect in love, or to love
God with all the strength and intelligence they possess.
He believed that the promise of the baptism of the Holy
Spirit was for believers today as much as at the day of
Pentecost.

Although Fletdier wrote but little concemmg himself,
his widow wrote a brief account of how he was led into a
deeper experience than conversion. Referring to his con*

igs JOHN FLETCHER

version, she says : ** Some time after this he was favored
with a further manifestation of the love of God, so power-
ful, that, he said, it appeared to him as if his body and
soul would be separated. Now all his desires centered in
one, that of devoting himself to the service of his precious
Master, which he thought he could best do by entering
holy orders."

The fullest account of how Fletcher obtained this deeper
inward experienec is given in a letter written by the fa-
mous Spirit-filled Hester Ann Rogers. Describing a meet-
ing held in 1781, she says: ''When I entered the room,
where they were assembled, the heavenly man (Fletcher)
was giving out the following verses with such animatioa
as I have seldom witnessed —

'''Near us, assisting Jesus, stand;

Give us the opening heavens to see;
Thee to behold at God's right hand,
And yield our parting souls to Thee*

" 'My Father, O my Father, hear.
And send the fiery chariot down;
Let Israel's famous steeds appear.
And whirl us to the starry crown.

" 'We, we would die for Jesus too ;

Through tortures, fires, and seas of blood»
All triumphantly break through.
And plunge into the depths of God/

"After this Mr. Fletcher poured out his full soul in
prayer, or praise, or spiritual instruction; and every word
that fell from his lips appeared to be accompanied with an
unction from above.

"After dinner, I took an opportunity to bq^ him to
explain an expression he had used in a letter to Miss Lox-

JOHN FLETCHER 193

dale; namely, that, on all who are renewed in love, God
bestows the gift of prophecy. He called for the Bible;
then read and explained Acts II., observing, that, to
prophesy in the sense he meant, was, to magnify God with
the new heart of love, and the new tongue of praise, as
they did, who, on the day of Pentecost, were filled with the
Holy Ghost. He insisted now that believers are called
upon to prove the same baptismal fire; that the day of
Pentecost was the opening of the dispensation of the Spirit
— the great promise of the Father ; and that the latter day
glory, which he believed was near at hand, should far ex-
ceed the first effusion of the Spirit. Seeing then that they,
on the day of Pentecost, bare witness to the grace of our
Lord, so shall we ; and, like them, spread the flame of love.

" After singing a hymn, he cried, ' O to be filled with
the Holy Ghost I I want to be filled! O, my friends, let
us wrestle for a more abundant outpouring of the Holy
Spirit ! ' To me, he said, * G)me, my sister, will you cov-
enant with me this day, to pray for the fulness of the
Spirit f Will you be a witness for Jesus. I answered with
flowing tears, * In the strength of Jesus I will.' He cried,
'Glory, glory be to God! Lord, strengthen Thine hand-
maid to keep this covenant, even unto death ! *

"He then said, 'My dear brethren and sisters, God
is here! I fed Him in this place; but I would hide my
face in the dust, because I have been ashamed to declare
what He has done for me. For many years, I have grieved
His Spirit; I am deeply humbled; and He has again re-
stored my soul. Last Wednesday evening, He spoke to
me by these words, 'Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed
unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our
I^ord.* I obeyed the voice of God ; I now obey it ; and tell
you all, to the praise of His love — I am freed from sin.
Yes, I rejoice to declare it, and to be a witness to the glory

13

^ JOHN FLETCHER

of His grace, that / am dead unto sm, and dive unto God,
through Jesus Christ, who is my Lord and King! I re-
ceived this Uessing four or five times before; but I lost
it, by not observing the order of God; who has told us,
IVith the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation. But the
enemy offered his bait, under various colors, to keep me
from a public declaration of what God had wrought

''When I first received this grace, Satan bid me wait
awhile, till I saw more of the fruits; I resolved to do so;
but I soon began to doubt of the witness, wfaidi, btiort, I
had felt in my heartf and in a little time, I was sensiUe
I had bst both. A second time, after receiving this sal-
vation, I was kept from being a witness for my Lord, by
the suggestion, ' Thou art a public character — die eyes of
all are upon thee — and if, as before, by any means thou
lose the blessing, it will be a dishonor to the doctrine of
heart-hdiness' I held my peace, and again forfeited the gift
of God At another time, I was prevailed upon to hide it,
by reasoning, * How few, even of the children of God, will
receive this testimony ; many of them supposing that every
transgression of the Adamic law is sin; and, therefore,
if I profess to be free from sin, aU these will give my pro-
fession the lie; because I am not free in their sense; I am
not free from ignorance, mistakes, and various infirmities;
I will, therefore, enjoy what God has wrought in me; but
I will not say, ' / am perfect in love! Alas ! I soon found
again. He that hideth his Lord's talent, and improveth it
not, from that unprofitable servant shall be taken aunty
even that he hath.

''Now, my brethren, you see my folly. I have con-
fessed it in your presence; and now I resolve before you
all to confess my Master. I will confess Him to all the
world. And I declare unto you, in the presence of God,

JOHN FLETCHER igg

the Holy Trinity, I am now dead indeed unio sm. I do
not say, / am crucified with Christ, because some of our
well-meaning brethren say, by this can only be meant grad-
ual dying ; but I profess unto you, / am dead unto sin, and
alive unto God; and, remember, all this is through Jesus
Christ our L^Mrd. He is my Prophet, Priest, and King —
my indwdling Holiness — my all in all. I wait for the
fulfilment of that prayer. That all may be one, as Thou,
Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be
one in us; and that they may be one, even as we are one.
O for that pure baptismal flameJ O for the fulness of the
dispensation of the Holy Ghost! Pray, pray, pray for
this ! This shall make us all of one heart, and of one soul.
Pray for gifts — for the gift of utterance ; and confess your
royal Master. A man without gifts is like a king in dis-
guise; he appears as a subject only. You are kings and
priests unto God! Put on, therefore, your robes, and wear
on your garter, holiness to the Lord/

*' A few days after this, I heard Mr. Fletcher preadi
upon the same subject ; inviting all, who felt their need of
full redemption, to believe now for this great salvation.
He observed, ' As when you reckon with your creditor, or
with your host, and, as when you have paid all, you reckon
yourselves free, so now reckon with God. Jesus has paid
all; He has paid for thee!—h2LS purchased thy pardon and
holiness; therefore, it is now God's command. Reckon thy-
self dead indeed unto sin ; and thou art alive unto God from
this hour! O, begin, begin to reckon now! Fear not; be-
lieve, believe, believe! and continue to believe every mo-
ment! So shalt thou continue free; for it is retained as
it is received, by faith alone. And, whosoever thou art
that perseveringly believetfa, it will be as fire in thy bosom,
and constrain thee to confess with thy mouth thy Lord and

196 JOHN FLETCHER

thy King, Jesus, and in spreading the sacred flame of Loye»
thou shalt be saved to the uttermost/

"He also dwelt largely on these words, 'Where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound/ He asked, ' How
did sin abound? Had it not overpowered your whole soul?
Were not all your passions, tempers, propensities, inor-
dinate and evil? Did not pride, anger, self-will, and un-
belief , all reign over you? And, when the Spirit of God
strove with you, did you not repel all His convictions, and
put Him far from you? Well, my brethren, ye were then
the servants of sin, and were free from righteousness ; but,
now, being made free from sin, ye became servants to God ;
and holiness shall overspread your whole soul, so that all
your tempers and passions shall be henceforth regulated
and governed by Him who now sitteth upon the throne
of your heart, making all things new. As you once re-
sisted the Holy Spirit, so now ye shall have power to re-
sist all the subtle frauds or fierce attacks of Satan/

" Mr. Fletcher then, with lifted hands, cried, ' Who will
thus be saved? Who will believe the report? You are
only in an improper sense called believers who reject this.
Who is a believer ? One who believes a few things which
God has spoken? Nay, but one who believes all that
ever proceeded out of His mouth. Here then is the
word of the Lord : As sin abounded, grace shall much more
abound! As no good thing was in you by nature, so now
no evil thing shall remain. Do you believe this? Or are
you a half believer only ? Come ! Jesus is offered to thee
as a perfect Saviour. Take Him, and He will make thee
a perfect saint. O ye half believers, will you still plead
for the murderers of your Lord ? Which of these will you
hide as a serpent in your bosom ? Shall it be anger, pride,
self-will, or accursed unbelief 'i O be no longer befooled!
Bring these enemies to thy Lord, and let Him slay them.' "

JOHN FLETCHER 197

The above words of Mrs. Rogers give us a glimpse of
the deeper inward experiences of the sainted Fletcher, al-
though his own modesty prevented him from giving any
detailed account of the marvelous manifestations of God's
Spirit to him, and through him. He walked and talked
and lived in the Spirit as few others have done. He shrank
from publicity and controversy, and was one of the most
retiring of men.

Fletcher was a great student of prophecy, and a firm
believer in the pre-millenial coming of Christ. He was
very abstemious in diet, eating very little and only vege-
tables, butter, and milk. Every moment of his time was
employed in some useful manner, and he conversed but
little except on Christian subjects.

About the year 1756 Fletcher joined the Methodists,
and soon after he began to think seriously of entering the
ministry. In 1757 he was ordained as a priest in the
Church of England, and from this time forward he be-
came Wesley's greatest helper and co-laborer. For three
years he preached with great unction and power in the
Methodist Societies and wherever Grod opened a door for
him. Occasionally he had an opportunity of preaching in
a State Church, but his preaching against sin was so bold
that the people were aghast and astonished at him; but
he was already becoming famous as a preacher, and was
a great favorite with the Wesle3rs, Whitefield, the Coun-
tess of Huntington, and the Methodists generally. Finally,
in 1760, he became vicar of the Anglican Church at
Madeley, which position he held until his death.

The first ten years at Madeley were spent in preach-
ing, visiting among his people, and in a profound study
of theology and religious works of all kinds. It was just
the preparation Fletcher needed to make him the powerful
defender of Methodism which he afterwards became. John

i^ JOHN FLETCHER

Wesley opposed his settling down at Maddey, but later
probably saw the wisdom of it After 1765 Methodist
Societies were formed in the neighborhood of Madeley,
and Fletcher frequently preached for them. Enormous
crowds flocked to hear him, and the buildings would sel-
dom contain the people. In 1765 he visited Bath and
Bristol, preaching in the large meeting-houses belonging
to the Countess of Huntington. She wrote concerning his
preaching, " Deep and awful are the impressions made on
every hand. Dear Mr. Fletcher's preaching is truly
apostolic." When about forty years of age he visited his
home in Switzerland, and preached with power to the
descendants of the Albigenses, and to other congr^faticms.
Everywhere he was regarded as almost super-human. An
old Swiss wept because Fletcher could not remain longer.
"Oh, sir, said he, "how unfortunate for my country!
During my lifetime it has produced but one angel of a
man, and now it is our lot to lose him!" Fletcher also
visited Italy in 1770, and with bared head and almost
seraphic countenance he walked along the Appian Way on
which Paul trod as a prisoner on his way to Rome. In
1776 Fletcher made an evangelistic tour in Britain with
the Wesleys.

For some time Fletcher was president of Trevaca Col-
lege, the collie founded by the Countess of Huntington
for training young men for the ministry. There he was
regarded as almost an angel. Mr. Benson, the head master
says, " He was received as an angel of God. It is impos-
sible for me to describe the veneration in which we all
held him." He also describes how when Fletcher visited
the college, the students lost interest in all their studies,
and laid aside ever3rthing to listen to him as he told them
how that being filled with the Spirit was a better quali-

JOHN FLETCHER 199

ficatkm for the ministry than classical learning. He then
spent hours on his knees praying for the students to be
filled with the Holy Ghost On one of these occasions he
was so overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit's power that he
cried out, " O my God, withhold Thy hand, or the vessel
will burst!" but he afterwards felt that he should have
prayed for God to enlarge the vessel.

In 1771 the great controversy arose between those who
held the Calvinistic views of theology and those who held
the Arminian, and Fletcher became the great defender of
the Arminian views held by the Methodists. Wesley was
too busy with the care of all the Methodist Societies to
devote much time to the controversy, but Fletcher defended
the Methodist theology in a way which left little to be de-
sired, and the kindly spirit in which he did it caused a
better feeling among all parties concerned. In his great
work entitled "Checks to Antinomianism " Fletcher so
harmonized the passages of Scripture on predestination, or
election, and those on man's free agency and moral re-
sponsibility as to show that they in no way contradict each
other. This book still remains one of the greatest bulwarks
of Methodist theology ever produced.

The Methodist preachers in the Conference burst into
tears, and Wesley was deeply moved when, in 1784,
Fletcher requested to be placed on the roll of supernumer-
ary ministers. The year following, he departed this life
after resting as in sleep for twenty-four hours.

It must not be supposed that so holy a man as Fletcher
had. no temptations. He told Wesley how Satan had often
tempted him to put an end to his own life. He was so
passionate by nature that he often plead and prayed the
whole night to get victory over his temper, and sometimes
lay prone upon the floor in an agony of grief as he plead

aoo JOHN FLETCHER

with God for the victory ; and yet he was famous for his
gentleness. In his Life of Fletcher, Wesley says: "For
twenty years and upwards before his death, no one ever
saw him out of temper, or heard him utter a rash expres-
sion, on any provocation whatever/'

Christmas Evans

CHRISTMAS EVANS

Wales has had many famous preachers. Among them,
Daniel Rowlands, Robert Roberts, John Elias, William
Williams, Henry Rees, John Jones, and Davies of Swan-
sea. But Qiristmas Evans, ''the one-eyed preacher of
Anglesea/' seems to have exceeded all the others both in
fame and spiritual power. He once said to Richard Row-
lands : " Brother, the truths, the confidence, and the power
I feel, will cause some to dance for joy in parts of Wales."
" They will/' replied Rowlands, with tears in his eyes. And
so it was.

Christmas Evans, often called ''The John Bunyan of
Wales," was bom on Christmas day, 1766, hence his name
Christmas. His parents were very poor. His father died
when he was nine years of age, and little Christmas did
chores for six years for a cruel ungodly uncle. His educa^
tion was neglected, and at the age of seventeen he could
not read a word. Many accidents and misfortunes befell
htm. Once he was stabbed in a quarrel, once nearly
drowned, once he fell from a high tree with an open knife
in his hand, and once a horse ran away with him and
dashed at full speed through a low and narrow passage.
After his conversion to Christ some of his former ungodly
oonq>anions waylaid him at night and unmercifully beat
him so that he lost one eye in consequence. But God mer«
Gtfully preserved him through all these trials.

ao3

204 CHRISTMAS EVANS

He left his cruel uncle at the age of seventeen, and
soon afterwards, during a revival, he identified himself
with the church. From an early age he had many religious
impressions, but he did not decide for Christ until his sev-
enteenth year. New desires then awoke in his soul and he
began to study to learn to read, and to improve his mind.
He soon felt a call to the ministry, and this feeling was
deepened by a remarkable dream he had concerning the
second coming of Christ. He felt that he was only a mass
of sin and ignorance, and was much discouraged by his
early efforts to preach. He memorized the prayers and
sermons of others and tried to pray and preach them.

In 1790 he was ordained by the Baptists and commenced
work as a missionary among some of the htunbler churches.
For three years before joining the Baptists he suffered
much from doubts regarding his own conversion to Christ ;
but soon after uniting with them all his burden of doubts
rolled away and he received "the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness." He was surprised at first to sec
people brought to God through his ministry, but the Lord
greatly blessed him and his meetings began to attract
widespread attention. He made a tour of South Wales on
foot and sometimes preached as many as five times during
one Sunday. Although he was shabbily dressed and awk-
ward, large crowds came to hear him preach, and often
there were tears, weeping, and uncontrollable excitement.
His sermons took great hold upon the people.

At twenty-six years of age Evans began to preach
among the churches on the island of Anglesea, on the
Welsh coast, and there he. remained for twenty years
preaching the gospel with much success. Here many of
the churches had been carried away by the Sandemanian
teachings, which seem to have been a form of extreme Cal-

CHRISTMAS EVANS 205

vinism, amounting to fatalism, depriving man of moral re-
sponsibility. The leader of the sect was a brilliant and
cultured orator, and for years Christmas Evans labored
and preached to counteract his teachings.

Evans' controversies with the Sandemanians brought
him into a place where he had lost much of the spirit of
prayer and sweetness so necessary for the enjo)mient of a
Christian life. He felt an intense need and longing for a
closer fellowship with God. He thus describes the manner
in which he sought and obtained the richer and fuller
Christian experience which he so much desired, and which
set his soul on fire with divine unction and power such
as he had never experienced before. " I was weary," says
he, "of a cold heart towards Christ, and His atonement,
and the work of His Spirit — of a cold heart in the pulpit,
in secret prayer and in study; especially when I remem-
bered that for fifteen years before that heart had been
burning within me as if I were on the way toward Em-
maus with Jesus. A day came at last, a day ever to be
remembered by me, when I was on my way from Dolgelly
to Machynlleth, and climbing up towards Cadair Idris. I
felt it my duty to pray, though my heart was hard enough
and my spirit worldly. After I had commenced pra3ring
in the name of Jesus, I soon felt as if the shackles were
falling off, and as if the mountains of snow and ice were
melting within me. This engendered confidence in my
mind for the promise of the Holy Ghost. I felt my whole
spirit relieved of some great bondage, and as if it were
rising up from the grave of a severe winter. My tears
flowed copiously, and I was constrained to cry aloud and
pray for the gracious visits of God, for the joy of his sal-
vation, and that He would visit again the Churches in
Anglesea that were under my care. I embraced in my sup-

906 CHRISTMAS EVANS

plications all of the churches, and prayed by name for most
of the preachers of Wales. This struggle lasted for three
hours. It would come over me again and again, like one
wave after another, like a tide driven by a strong wind,
until my physical power was greatly weakened by weeping
and crying. Thus I gave myself up wholly to Christ, body
and soul, talents and labors — all my life— every day, and
every hour that remained to me, and all my cares I en-
trusted into the hands of Christ. The road was mountain-
ous and lonely, so that I was alone, and suffered no in-
terruption in my wrestlings with God. This event caused
me to expect a new revelation of God's goodness to my-
self and the churches. Thus the Lord delivered me and
the people of Anglesea from being swept away by the evils
of Sandemanianism. In the first service I held after this
event, I felt as if I had been removed from the cold and
sterile r^on of spiritual ice, into the pleasant lands of
the promises of God. The former striving with God in
prayer, and the longing anxiety for the conversion of sin-
ners, which I had experienced at Leyn, were now restored.
I had a hold of the promise of God. The result was, when
I returned home, the first thing that attracted my notice
was, that the Spirit was working also in the brethren in
Anglesea, inducing in them a spirit of prayer, especially
in two of the deacons, who were particularly importunate
that God should visit us in mercy, and render the Word
of His grace effectual amongst us in the conversion of
sinners."

It was doubtless about the time of this remarkable ex-
perience of the anointing of the Holy Spirit that Christmas
Evans wrote " a solemn covenant with God," to every ar-
ticle of which he signed his initials. This covenant of ooo-
secration was as follows:

CHRISTMAS EVANS 207

COVENANT WITH GOD.

I. I give my soul and body unto Thee, Jesus, tiie true
God, and everlasting life; deliver us from sin, and from
eternal death, and bring me into life everlasting. Amen.
— C. E.

II. I call the day, the sun, the earth, the trees, the
stones, the bed, the table and the books, to witness that I
come unto Thee, Redeemer of sinners, that I may obtain
rest for my sot|l from the thunders of guilt and the dread
of eternity. Amen. — C. E.

III. I do, through confidence in Thy power, earnestly
entreat Thee to take the work into Thme own hand, and
give me a circumcised heart, that I may love Thee; and
create in me a right spirit, that I may seek Thy glory.
Grant me that principle which Thou wilt own in the day
of judgment, that I may not then assume pale-facedness,
and find myself a hypocrite. Grant me this, for the sake
of Thy most precious blood. Amen. — C. E.

IV. I entreat Thee, Jesus, the Son of God, in power,
grant me, for the sake of Thy agonizing death, a covenant
interest in Thy blood which deanseth; in Thy righteous-
ness, which justifieth; and in Thy redemption, which de-
livereth. I entreat an interest in Thy blood, f6r Thy
blood's sake, and a part in Thee, for Thy name's sake,
which Thou hast given among men. Amen. — C. E.

V. O Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, take for
the sake of Thy cruel death, my time, and strength, and
the gifts and talents I possess ; which, with a full purpose
of heart, I consecrate to Thy glory in the building up of
Thy Church in the world, for Thou art worthy of the
hearts and talents of men. Amen. — C. E.

VL I desire Thee, my great High Priest, to confirm,
by Thy power from Thy High Court, my usefulness as a

2o8 CHRISTMAS EVANS

preacher, and my piety as a Christian, as two gardens nigh
to each other ; that sin may not have place in my heart to
becloud my confidence in Thy righteousness, and that I
may not be left to any foolish act that may occasion my
gifts to wither, and I be rendered useless before my life
ends. Keep Thy gracious eye upon me, and watch over
me, O my Lord, and my God for ever ! Amen. — C. E.

VII. I give myself in a particular manner to Thee, O
Jesus Christ the Saviour, to be preserved from the falls
into which many stumble, that Thy name (in Thy cause)
may not be blasphemed or wounded, that my peace may
not be injured, and that Thy people may not be grieved,
and that Thine enemies may not be hardened. Amen.

-<:. E.

VIII. I come entreating Thee to enter into a covenant
with me in my ministry. Oh, prosper me as Thou didst
prosper Bunyan, Vavasor, Powell, Howell Harris, Row-
lands, and Whitefield. The impediments in the way of my
prosperity remove. Work in me the things approved of
God that I may attain this. Give me a heart ''sick of
love " to Thee, and to the souls of men. Grant that I may
feel the power of Thy Word before preaching it, as Moses
felt the power of his rod before he felt the eflFect of it
on the land and waters of Egypt. For the sake of Thy
precious blood, Jesus, my all in all, grant me this. Amen.
-C. E.

IX. Search me now, and lead me in the paths of judg-
ment. May I see in this world what I really am in Thy
sight, that I may not find myself otherwise when the light
of eternity shall dawn upon me, and open my eyes in the
brightness of immortality. Wash me in Thy redeeming
blood. Amen. — C. E.

CHRISTMAS EVANS 209

X. Give me power to trust in Thee for food and rai-
ment, and to make known my requests to Thee. O let Thy
care be over me as a covenant privil^e betwixt Thee and
me, and not simply as a general care which Thou shewest
in feeding the ravens that perish and clothing the lily that
is cast into the oven, but remember me as one of Thy fam-
ily, and as one of Thy unworthy brethren. Amen. — C E.

XI. Take upon Thyself, O Jesus, to prepare me for
death, for Thou art God; and Thou needest but to speak
the word. If it be possible — ^but Thy will be done — let
me not linger in sickness, nor die a sudden death without
bidding adieu to my brethren, but rather let me die with
them around me, after a short illness. May everything be
put in order ready for that day of passing from one world
to another, so that there may be no confusion or disorder,
but a passing away in peace. O grant me this for the
sake of Thine agony in the garden. Amen. — C. E.

XII. Grant, O blessed Lord, that no sin may be nour-
ished or fostered in me which may cause Thee to cast me
off from the work of Thy sanctuary, like the sons of Eli ;
and, for the sake of Thine infinite merits, let not my days
be longer than my usefulness. *Let me not become, at the
end of my days, like a piece of lumber in the way of the
usefulness of others. Amen. — C. E.

Xm. I beseech Thee, my Redeemer, to present these
supplications of mine before the Father; and oh, inscribe
them in Thy book with Thine own immortal pen, while I
am writing them with my mortal hand in my book on
earth. According to the depths of Thy merit, and Thy in-
finite grace, and Thy compassion, and Thy tenderness
toward Thy people, O attach Thy name in Thine Upper
Court to these humble supplications of mine ; and set Thine
amen to them, even as I set mine on my side of the cov-

14

210 CHRISTMAS EVANS

cnant Amen.— CHRISTMAS EVANS, Uangevni, An-
glesea, April 10, 1&— .

After his entire consecration to God, and after receiv-
ing the anointing of the Holy Spirit while he wrestled in
prayer on his way from Dolgelly to Machyndleth. Christ-
mas Evans b^;an to preach with a new miction and power.
A great revival spread from preacher to people all over
the island of Anglesea, and then over the whole of Wales.
The people were often so wrought upon by Evan's ser-
mons that they literally danced for joy, and their actions
obtained for them the nick-name of " the Welsh jumpers."
Often the audiences were moved to weeping and tears.
Once when Evans preached concerning ** The Demoniac of
Gadara," and vividly portrayed the deliverance of the de-
moniac, the wonder of the people, and especially the joy
of the demoniac's wife and children when he returned
home healed and saved, the audience laughed and wept al-
ternately. One biographer says that " the place was a per-
fect Bochim for weeping." Shouts of prayer and praise
mingled together. One who heard this wonderful sermon
says, that, at last, the people seemed like the inhabitants
of a city which had been shaken by an earthquake, that
in their escape, rushed into the streets, falling upon the
earth screaming, and calling upon God!

''The powerful sermons, the breath of heaven, the
weeping, the praising, the return of sinners to God," now
characterized Evans' meetings wherever he went This
was especially true when he preached his famous '' Grave-
yard Sermon," in which he described the world as dead
and buried in the graveyard of Law, with Justice guard-
ing the gates but Mercy coming to unlock them. This ser-
mon has been published almost everywhere. The preadiing
of it brought conviction of sin like a deluge over the

CHRISTMAS EVANS 211

people. The scene resembled the one at Shotts, in Scotland,
when five hundred persons professed conversion to Christ
under the preaching of a sermon by John Livingston. It
was similar to that at Llanidloes, Wales, when a thousand
persons decided for Christ under one sermon preached by
Michael Roberts. Or it resembled the time when twenty-
five hundred persons were added to the churches as the
result of one sermon preached by John Elias, the mighty
Welsh preacher.

Evans was "a man the spell of whose name, when he
came into a neighborhood, could wake up all the sleepy
villages, and bid their inhabitants pour along up by the
hills, and down by the valleys, expectant crowds watching
his appearance with tears, and sometimes hailing him with
shouts." "It must be said, his are very great sermons/' says
Rev. Paxton Hood, "the present writer is almost disposed
to be bold enough to describe them, as the grandest Gospel
sermons of the last hundred years/' One biographer de-
scribes his manner while preaching as follows: "Christ-
mas Evans, meantime, is pursuing his way, lost in his
theme. Now his eye lights up, says one who knew him,
Kke a brilliantly flashing star, his dear forehead expands,
his form dilates in majestic dignity ; and all that has gone
before will be lost in the white-heat passion with which
he prepares to sing of Paradise lost and Paradise regained/'

The anointing of the Holy Spirit was the great secret
of Evans' power. Writing to a young minister, he says:
"You will observe that some heavenly ornaments, and
power from on high, are visible in many ministers when
under the Divine irradiaticHi, which you cannot approach to
by merely imitating their artistic excellence, without re-
sembling them in their spiritual taste, fervency, and zeal
which Christ and His Spirit 'work in them/ This will

313 CHRISTMAS EVANS

cause, not only your being like unto them in gracefulness
of action, and propriety of elocuticHi, but will also induce
prayer for the anointing of the Holy One, which worketh
mightily in the inward man. This is the mystery of ef-
fective preaching. We must be endued with power from
on high/' Someone said to Evans, " Mr. Evans, you have
not studied Dr. Blair's Rhetoric." Evans, to whom Dr.
Blair with his rules was always as dry as Gilboa, replied:
" Why do you say so when you just now saw hundreds
weeping under the sermon ? That could not be, had I not
first of all been influenced myself, which, you know, is the
substance, and mystery, of all rules of speaking."

Evans collected much money for the building of
churches, the Baptist churches of Anglesea being more than
doubled under his ministry. In one place where he was
raising money to build a chapel, the money came very
slowly although the audiences were very large. There had
been much sheep-stealing in the neighborhood, and Evans
decided to use this fact to advantage in collecting money.
He told the people that undoubtedly some of the sheep-
stealers must be present in the congregation, and he hoped
that they would not throw any money into the collection.
A big collection was taken. Those who did not have any
money to give borrowed from their neighbors to put in
the collection.

"Dear old Christmas," as he was familiarly called in
his old age, finished his course with joy, and fell asleep in
Christ July 23, 1838, with a song of victory on his lips.

LORENZO DOW

Some one has said that all Spirit-filled Christians ap-
pear peculiar or eccentric to the people of the world, be-
cause "'the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God" (i Cor. 2: 14). This was especially true
of Lorenzo Dow, the quaint but famous pioneer Methodist
preacher, who, about the beginning of the hineteenth cen-
tury, traveled about the world on foot and on horseback,
preaching the Gospel to tens of thousands, and winning
multitudes to Christ

In his character Lorenzo Dow very much resembled
John Bunyan, but he seems to have had a quiet vein of
humor which was lacking in the latter. Like Bunyan he
went astray with wicked boys in his youth, and learned
many of their ways. Like Bunyan he was haunted by ter-
rible dreams and visions. And like Bunyan he was
plunged into awful agony and despair by imagining that
God had reprobated, or predestined, him to be damned.

Lorenzo Dow was bom in Connecticut, October 16,
1777. His parents were bom in the same town, but were
descended from English ancestors. They had a son and
four daughters beside Lorenzo, who was next to the young-
est. They tried to educate the children well both in re-
ligion and common learning. Lorenzo came near dying
when two years of age, and he always suffered from a weak
constitution. When he was between three and four year9

215

2i6 LORENZO DOW

of age, he was one day playing with a companion when
he fell into so deep a muse concerning God and heaven
that he forgot about his play. He asked his companion if
he ever said his prayers, morning or night; and when his
friend replied " no," Lorenzo said, " Then you are wicked
and I will not play with you," and he went into the house.
When Lorenzo was eight years of age, his parents removed
to another vicinity, the youth of which were very vile,
wicked and corrupt. He soon learned their ways, and his
serious thoughts and impressions soon left him. But one
day he killed a bird, and the sight of it gasping struck hor-
ror to his heart, as it made him think of death, and be
was afraid to die.

At ten years of age he promised to serve God if He
would restore his sick friend to health. " God granted my
desire," says he, "but I soon forgot my promise." Later
he promised to serve God if he should get the prize in a
certain draw or lottery. " No sooner had I got the prize,
which was a shilling, than I brake my promise," says he.

When past the age of thirteen, and about the time Wes-
ley died (1791), he had a vision in which Wesley appeared
to him three times in succession and warned him that be
had better pray. " Keen conviction seized my heart," says
he. " I knew I was unprepared to die. Tears began to
run down plentifully, and I again resolved to seek the sal-
vation of my soul." After this he broke off from his old
companions and sought earnestly for salvation; but he
had no one to pray for him and show him how to be saved.
He was also greatly troubled over the doctrine of uncon-
ditional election, or predestination, as taught by many in
those days. Referring to his dream about Wesley, he says:
"Frequently before and after the above, the enemy of
souls harassed me much with the forementioncd doctrine

LORENZO DOW 217

of reprobation, etc., my view of which excited such enmity
and rage against the Supreme Being, as the author of my
most wretched helpless fate, that I cursed and swore, and
blasphemed His name, throwing sticks and stones toward
heaven, defying Him to come down and destroy me. It
seemed as if I were unable to refrain from acting often in
this manner." Through brooding over the matter, he be-
came so fully persuaded that he was predestined to be
damned that he decided to take his own life. Loading a
gun he went out into the woods for the purpose, but when
he was about to pull the trigger he decided to wait a little
while longer before taking his life.

About this time the Methodists came to his town. They
were everywhere spoken against, but he concluded that if
he was one of God's elect they could do him no harm, and
if he was eternally reprobated they could do him no injury,
and he went to their meetings. He was somewhat sur-
prised to see that the Methodists looked very much like
other people. The preacher, Hope Hull, described his con-
dition so accurately that he had to hold on to his cousin to
keep from falling off his seat, so great was his agitation.
People were being converted all around him and his con-
viction became almost unendurable. He went to a prayer-
meeting, and his conviction of 'n became so overwhelming
that he fell down on the road several times on his way
home, and he hardly realized what he was doing. Reach-
ing home he prayed for hours until he fell into a slumber
from pure exhaustion. He then had a fearful vision of
hell. In his suffering he awoke, " and, oh ! how glad I was
to find that it was only a dream," says he. He began to
pray earnestly, and finally said, " Lord ! I give up ; I sub-
mit; I yield; I yield; if there be mercy in heaven for me,
let me know it; and if not, let me go down to hell and

2iB LORENZO DOW

know the worst of my case. As these words flowed from
my heart/' says he, "I saw the Mediator step in, as it
were, between the Father's justice and my soul, and these
words were applied to my mind with great power : * Son,
thy sins which are many are forgiven thee; thy faith hath
saved thee ; go in peace/

'' The burden of sin and guilt and the fear of hell van-
ished from my mind, as perceptibly as a hundred pounds
weight falling from a man's shoulder; my soul flowed out
in love to God, to His ways and to His people; yea, and
to all mankind/'

Having found the Saviour, he immediately wanted to
tell others. "My soul was so happy," says he, "that I
could scarcely settle to work ; and I spent the greatest part
of the day in going from house to house through the neigh-
borhood, to tell the people what God had done for me."

He soon felt a powerful call to preach the gospel ; but
felt that he was only an illiterate child, and resisted the
call as a temptation from the devil. The more he re-
sisted the call, the greater was his misery. He tried in
every way to get rid of the impression that he must preacu,
but the hand of God was heavy jupon him. Like Jonah, he
was afflicted in soul and body until he was literally com-
pelled to preach. After he began to preach, he met with
so many discouragements that he tried again and again to
stop preaching, but the hand of affliction was so heavy
upon him that he was forced to beg^n again. He said that
God showed him plainly that he could not live unless he
preached the gospel, and that if he stopped preaching he
would die. Like the Apostle Paul, he could say, "For
though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of:
for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I
preach not the gospel ! For if I do this thing willingly, I
have a reward; but if against my will, a dispensation of

LORENZO DOW 319

the gospel is committed unto me" (i Cor. 9:16, 17).
Lorenzo sometimes resolved that saved or damned he would
not preachy but intense physical suffering compelled him
to change his mind, and then his health would improve.
He once had a vision of Justice ready to cut him down if
he did not preach the gospel. He seems to have been
taught many things in dreams and visions, of which he
had more than almost any other person with whose his-
tory the writer is acquainted.

He was licensed to preach by the Methodists, and in
1796, at the age of 19, he became an itinerant preacher.
His presiding elder and others criticised his ignorance, his
behaviour, his conceit, his manner of preaching, and so
on, until his heart was almost ready to break with discour-
agement, and he longed to stop preaching. Sometimes the
conference took away his credentials, and he sought to
hold this up to God as an excuse for not preaching, but
the hand of the Lord was heavy upon him until he re-
sumed his preaching.

Dow's manner of preaching was bold, full of zeal,
and so uncompromising as to arouse the anger of many;
but God blessed his labors in many places, though in others
he could scarcely obtain a hearing. Often in his early
ministry his clothes were worn out, and he had no money
to buy new ones, but in some way or other the Lord al-
ways supplied his need.

In 1796, while still in his nineteenth year, Dow was
deeply convinced of his need of a deeper spiritual experi-
ence. During that year he wrote : " I never felt the
plague of a hard heart as I do of late, nor so much faith
as I now have that inbred corruption will be done away,
and I filled with perfect peace, and enabled to rejoice ever-
more.''

230 LORENZO DOW

Referring to this period, he also says : " Sometimes I
was so happy, and the times so powerful, I would hope
' the winter was past and gone/ But soon it would return
again."

From his Journal, of Sunday, May 23, 1802, we copy
the following account of how he obtained the deeper spir-
itual experience for which his soul was craving:

"When I was on the Orange (Connecticut) Circuit,"
says he, " I felt something within that needed to be done
away. I spake to one and another concerning the pain I
felt in my happiest moments, which caused a burden but
not guilt; some said one thing and some another; but none
spoke to my case, but seemed to be like physicians that
did not understand the nature of my disorder; thus the
burden continued, and sometimes felt greater than the bur-
den of guilt for justification, until I fell in with T. Dewey,
on Cambridge Circuit. He told me about Calvin Wooster,
in Upper Canada, that he enjoyed the blessing of sanctifi-
cation, and had a miracle wrought in his body, in some
sense; the course of nature turned in consequence, and
he was much owned and blessed of God in his ministerial
labors. I felt a great desire arise in my heart to see the
man, if it might be consistent with the Divine will; and
not long after I heard he was passing through the circuit
and going home to die. I immediately rode five miles to
the house; but found he was gone another five miles fur-
ther. I went into the room where he was asleep; he ap-
peared to be more like one from the eternal world, than
like one of my fellow mortals. I told him, when he awoke,
who I was and what I had come for. Said he: 'God
has convicted you for the blessing of sanctification, and
that Blessing is to be obtained by the single act of faith,
the same as the blessing of justification. I persuaded him
to tarry in the neighborhood a few days ; and a couple of

LORENZO DOW 221

evenings after the above, after I had done speaking one
evening, he spake, or rather whispered out an exhortation,
as his voice was so broken, in consequence of praying, in
the stir of the Upper Canada, as from twenty to thirty
were frequently blessed at a meeting. He told me that if
he could get a sinner under conviction, crying for mercy,
they would kneel down a dozen of them, and not rise un-
til he found peace; for, said he, we did believe that God
would bless him, and it was according to our faith.

"At this time he was in a consumption, and a few
weeks after expired ; and his last words were, as I am in-
formed, ' Ye must be sanctified or be damned,' and casting
a look upwards, went out like the snuff of a candle, with-
out terror; and while whispering out the above esdiorta-
tion, the power which attended the same, reached the hearts
of the people ; and some who were standing or sitting, fell
like men shot in the field of battle ; and I felt a tremor to
run through my soul and every vein, so that it took away
my limb power, so that I fell to the floor, and by faith,
saw a greater blessing than I had hitherto experienced, or
in other words, felt a Divine conviction of the need of a
deeper work of grace in my soul ; feeling some of the re-
mains of the evil nature, the effect of Adam's fall, still
remaining, and it my privilege to have it eradicated or
done away; my soul was in an agony — I could but groan
out my desire to God — He came to me, and said, believe
the blessing is now; no sooner had the words dropped
from his lips, than I strove to believe the blessing mine
now, with all the powers of my soul, then the burden
dropped or fell from my heart, and a solid joy, and a
gentle running peace filled my soul.

" From that time to this I have not had the ecstacy of
joy or that downcast of spirit as formerly; but more of
an inward, simple, sweet running peace from day to day,

aaa LORENZO DOW

so that prosperity or adversity doth not produce the ups
and downs as formerly; but my soul is more like the
ocean, whilst the surface is uneven by reason of the bois-
terous wind, the bottom is still calm; so that a man may
be in the midst of outward difficulties, and yet the center
of the soul may be stayed on God; the perfections of
angels are such, that they cannot fall away; which some
think is attainable by mortals here; but I think we can-
not be perfect as God, for absolute perfection belongs to
Him alone ; neither as perfect as angels, nor even as Adam
before he fell, because our bodies are now mortal, and
tend to clog the mind, and weigh the spirit down; never-
theless, I do believe, that a man may drink in the Spirit
of God, so far as to live without committing wilful, or
known, or malicious sins against God, but to have love
the ruling principle within, and what we say or do to
flow from that Divine principle of love and not from a
sense of duty, though subject to trials, temptations, and
mistakes at the same time."

After receiving the experience described above, Lorenzo
Dow met with much greater success in his preaching. Dur-
ing the same year, 1796, his meetings kindled a revival
flame that spread to a number of places. In 1797 his
whole circuit was stirred into a flame of revival and this
made his conference regard him more favorably. God
greatly blessed his labors. Crowds flocked to hear him,
and multitudes were seized with deep conviction of sin
and were led to Qirist under his preaching. Wherever
he went, whether in America, England, or Ireland, similar
results followed his labors. Sometimes the people flocked
together in thousands to hear him, and they were coii-
verted to Christ by the scores. In one place the people
were crying for mercy for eleven hours without interrup-
tion. Dow's unique methods of presenting the truth, and

WRENZO DOW 223

the remarkable results attending his labors, made him fa-
mous the world over. When he entered a city and hegsok
preaching, the effects of his sermons were soon noticeable
in the solenm countenances of the people as they walked
along the streets. He held many great camp-meetings in
which from one to ten thousand people heard his preach-
ing. He was so careful to follow the leadings of the Holy
Spirit in all that he did that one preacher said concern-
ing him, " He is Quakerized."

There were some strange manifestations in the meet-
ings held by Dow, as in the meetings held by Peter Cart-
wright and in the great revivals at the b^^ning and near
the middle of the nineteenth century. The most remark-
able of these were the exercises known as "the jerks,"
which were so prominent a feature in the great Cumber-
land Revival. People of all denominations, and many who
were not professing Christians, were seized with the jerk-
ing exercises. But it was principally the persecutors, scof-
fers, or half-hearted, among professing Christians who
suffered with this strange "visitation from God," as some
have called it "Trembling took hold of the hypocrites,"
says Dow. Writing concerning this jerking exercise, he
says : " The wicked are more afraid of it than the small-
pox or yellow fever ; these are subject to it ; but the perse-
cutors are more subject to it than any, and they sometimes
have cursed, and swore, and damned it whilst jerking.
There is no pain attending the jerks, except they resist it,
which if they do, it will weary them more in an hour than
a day's labor ; which shows that it requires the consent of
die wiU to avoid suffering."

Describing oncf of his great meetings, held in 1804, Dow
says : " I observed about thirty to have the jerks, though
tiicy strove to keq> still as they could; these emotions were

224 LORENZO DOW

involuntary and irresistible, as any unprejudiced eye might
discern."

Describing another of his meeting in which there were
some remarkable physical manifestations, he says : " Soon
nine were sprawling on the ground, and some were ap-
parently lifeless. The doctors supposed they had fainted,
and desired water and fans to be used. I replied, ' Hush I'
Then to show the folly of my ideas, they attempted to
determine it with their skill, but to their surprise, their
pulse was regular. Some said, ' It is fictitious, they make
it.' I answered, * The weather is warm, and we are in a
perspiration, whilst they are as cold as corpses, which can-
not be done by human art.'

" Here some supposing they were dying, whilst others
suggested, ' It is the work of the devil,' I observed, * If it
be the devil's work, they will use the dialect of hell when
they come to.' Some watched my words, in great solem-
nity, and the first and the second were soon brought
through, happy, and all in the course of the night."

So remarkable was the power manifested in Dow's
meetings, and so numerous were his dreams and visions
which came true, many looked upon him as having super-
natural powers. They thought he could detect criminals,
cure the sick, and so on. Several amusing incidents are
related concerning the manner in which he detected thieves
when people insisted that he should do so. While travel-
ing one Sunday to a place where he had an appointment
to preach, Dow overheard a man swearing bitterly. He
went up to him and asked him the cause. The man an-
swered that he had an axe stolen the night before. " Come
along with me to the meeting," said Dow, " and I will find
your axe." The man consented, and when they arrived
near the church, Dow stopped and picked up a large stone,
which he carried with him into the church, and laid upoQ

LORENZO DOW 2«

the front of tiie pulpit. The subject of his sermon was
very well fitted to this particular object, and when in the
midst of it, he stopped short, took the stone in his hand,
and, raising it, with a threatening attitude, said: "A man
in this neighborhood had an axe stolen last night, and if
Ae person who stole it does not dodge, I will hit him on
the forehead with this stone," at the same time making a
violent gesture as if he were about to throw the stone, as
he swung round in the pulpit. A person present was ob-
served to dodge his head violently, and he proved to be
the guilty person.

In another place a person who had been robbed en-
treated Dow to discover the thief. Dow told him to gather
all the suspected persons into a certain room, and to get
a black pot and a rooster. He did so, and Dow put the
rooster under the pot, and then had the room darkened.
He then explained that he wanted every one present to go
up to the pot in the dark, and to touch it with his fingers,
and assured them that when the guilty person touched the
pot the rooster would crow. After all had gone up to tlie
pot the room was lighted, and it was discovered that one
person present had no soot on his fingers. He had been
afraid to touch the pot, and afterwards proved to be the
guilty person.

The above incidents are fair samples of the many novel
and eccentric doings of Lorenzo Dow. In 1799 he went
to Ireland, and while riding on a canal boat there he ob-
served that there was much gambling on the boat. He
tried to purchase the cards from the captain, but he re-
fused to sell them. He finally gave the deck of cards to
Dow, who surprised him by throwing them overboard.
The gamblers were afterward convicted of sin. At Hack-
lestown, Ireland, two young ladies in a home where Dow
remained over night were deeply absorbed in fixing some

226 LORENZO DOW

fashionable superfluities on their clothes. Dow said to
them: ''Every time you wear them, remember another
suit you'll have, the muffler and winding sheet" This made
such an impression upon their minds that they were both
brought to Christ as a result.

Unique as Dow's methods were, they were often owned
of God. Sometimes he told the people that he would ask
God to send some sickness on them if they did not repent
One time he hired a servant to pray for a whqle day. She
said that she did not have time to pray, and he gave her
a dollar for her day's time, with the understancUng that
she was to spend the time in prayer. At another place
Dow urged a young lady to decide whom she would serve,
God or the Devil. She chose the latter, but was converted
to Christ soon afterward. At one place where Dow was
preaching, the young men would leave the meeting when
the preaching became too powerful for them. Here Dow
preached with his back against the door to keep them from
going out, and about two-thirds of them were brought
under deep conviction of sin.

In 1834, at the age of 57, Lorenzo Dow laid down his
cross and took up his crown. He endured much suffering
for the sake of his Master, but he won many souls to Christi
and will shine as the stars for ever and ever.

In personal appearance Dow was about 5 feet, 10 inches
in height, was rather light complexioned, and much marked
with the small-pox. He had small, light eyes, dark-brown
hair and eye-brows, small features and short visage. The
originality of his methods is shown even in the title of
his diary, or journal, which is, ''The Dealings of God,
Man, and the Devil; as Exemplified in the Life, Experi-
ence, and Travels of Lorenzo Dow.''

Peter Cartwriget

PETER CASTWRIGHT

III the front rank of the pioneer Methodist preachers
of America was Peter Cartwright. He was famous not
because of his education or learning, for he had but little
of these. But his great spiritual power and native com-
mon sense and shrewdness made him known all over Amer-
ica and in many other lands as well. ''It must be re-
membered," says he, "that many of us early traveling
preachers, who entered the vast wilderness of the West
at an early day, had little or no education, no books, and
no time to read or study them if we could have had them/'

Peter Cartwright was one of the principal agents used
of God in the great revival near the beginning of the nine-
teenth century. Few, if any, other preachers ever con-
ducted so many camp-meetings or conducted them with so
great success. We might almost say that Cartwright was
without a peer as a camp-meeting preacher. In his "Auto-
biography " he has related many thrilling incidents, htmior-
ous or otherwise, concerning his experiences in camp-meet-
ings and elsewhere.

Cartwright was bom in Virginia in 1785. His parents
were poor. They soon moved to the backwoods of Ken-
tucky, where Cartwright grew up without an education.
His mother was a Methodist, but his father was an unbe-
liever. Occasionally a Methodist itinerant preacher would
visit their cabin. Finally a little church was organized near
them. Many criminals and desperate characters had fled

ajo PETER CARTWRIGHT

to this frontier settlement, and it was called ''Rogues'
Harbor/' There was no newspaper or regular school with-
in forty miles of the place. Almost everything eaten by
the people was grown by them, and the clothes they wore
were home-spun from cotton raised by themselves. They
had but little communication with the outside world.

Cartwright says : " I was naturally a wild, wicked boy,
and delighted in horse-racing, card-playing and dancing.
My father restrained me but little, though my mother often
talked to me, wept over me, and prayed for me, often drew
tears from my eyes ; and though I often wept under preach-
ing and resolved to do better and seek religion, yet I broke
my vows, went into young company, rode races, played
cards and danced."

After a school was started in his neighborhood. Cart-
wright attended it for a short time, but the teacher was
a poor one and Cartwright made but little progress in his
studies. He says : " I, however, learned to read, write,
and cipher a little, but very imperfectly." As time rolled
on the population increased, civilization advanced,' and a
number of churches sprang up in the community. About
this time the great Cumberland Revival began.

Describing the beginning of the famous Cumberland
Revival, Cartwright says: "Somewhere between 1800
and 1801, in the upper part of Kentucky, at a memorable
place called * Cane Ridge/ there was appointed a sacra-
mental meeting by some of the Presbyterian ministers; at
which meeting, seemingly unexpected by ministers or peo-
ple, the mighty power of God was displayed in a very ex-
traordinary manner; many were moved to tears and cried
aloud for mercy." This was the beginning of one of the
greatest revivals of religion known to history. " The meet-
ing was protracted for weeks/* continues Cartwright. Min-
isters of almost all denominations flocked in from far and

PETER CARTWRIGHT 231

Hear. The meeting was kept up by night and day. Thou-
sands heard of tiie mighty work, and came on foot, on
horseback, in carriages and wagons. It is supposed that
there were in attendance at times during the meeting from
twelve to twenty-five thousand people. Hundreds fell pros-
trate under the mighty power of God, as men slain in
batUe."

" From this camp-meeting," he adds later, " for so it
ought to be called, the news spread through all the churches,
and through all the land, and it excited great wonder and
surprise; but it kindled a religious flame that spread all
over Kentucky, and through many other States. And I
may here be permitted to say, that this was the first camp-
meeting ever held in the United States, and here our camp-
meetings took their rise."

The revival spread to Cartwright's neighborhood, and a
great camp-meeting was held there. The people crowded
to this camp-meeting from far and near. "The power of
God was wonderfully displayed;" sa)rs he, "scores of sin-
ners fell under the preaching, like men slain in a mighty
battle; Christians shouted aloud for joy."

Cartwright had previously been convicted of sin, and
he went to this camp-meeting feeling that he was a lost,
undone sinner, and he was even tempted to believe that
he was forever reprobate, although he did not endorse the
doctrines of unconditional election and reprobation. He
says : " In 1801, when I was in my sixteenth year, my
father, my eldest half-brother, and myself, attenddd a
wedding about five miles from home, where there was a
great deal of drinking and dancing, which was very com-
mon in marriages in those days. I drank little or noth-
ing; my delight was in dancing. After a late hour in the
night we mounted our horses and started for home. I was
riding my race-horse.

232 PETBB CARTWRIGHT

** A few minutes after we had put up the horses, and
were sitting by the fire, I began to reflect on the manner
in which I had spent the day and evening. I felt guilty
and condemned. I rose and walked the floor. My mother
was in bed. It seemed to me, all of a sudden, my blood
rushed to my head, my heart palpitated, in a few minutes
I turned blind; an awful impression rested on my mind
that death had come, and I was unprepared to die. I fell
on my knees, and began to ask God to have mercy on me.**

His mother, hearing him praying, was soon at his side.
They prayed long and earnestly. Finally he went to bed,
after promising the Lord that he would seek until he found
salvation. Next morning he rose "feeling wretched be-
yond expression." He sold his race-horse, burned his pack
of cards, and tried to read the Bible and pray. '* I was
so distressed and miserable," says he, "that I was incsp-
able of any regular business." He agonized and prayed
for days in this wretched, miserable condition. Three
months passed by and still he did not find the pardon of
his sins. It was at this time that the great camp-meeting
already described began in his neighborhood. "To this
meeting I repaired," says he, "a guilty miserable sinner.
On the Saturday evening of said meeting, I went with
weeping multitudes, and bowed before the stand, and earn-
estly prayed for mercy. In the midst of a solemn struggle
of soul, an impression was made on my mind, as though
a voice said to me, * Thy sins are all forgiven thee/ Di-
vine light flashed all around me, unspeakable joy sprung
up in my soul. I rose to my feet, opened my eyes, and
it really seemed as if I was in heaven ; the trees, the leaves
on them, and everything seemed, and I really thought were,
praising God. My mother raised the shout, my Christian
friends crowded around me, and joined me in praising

Peter cartwright 233

God ; and though I have been since then, in many instances,
unfaithful, yet I have never, for one moment, doubted that
the Lord did, then and there, forgive my sins, and give me
religion."

Cartwright joined the Methodist Church the same year
that he was converted to Christ. He went to several camp-
meetings among the Methodists and Presbyterians, and
took quite an active part in the meetings. " I was enjoy-
ing great comfort and peace/' says he.

Next year after his conversion, tQ Christ, Cartwright
was given an exhorter's license. He had already exhorted
some when he felt led of the Spirit to do so, but he was
not expecting any license from the Church. In the fall of
the same year his presiding elder gave him permission to
form a circuit, in the new region of Kentucky to which
he was then moving. " I told him," says Cartwright, " just
to give me a simple letter of membership; that, although
I did feel at times that it was my duty to preach, I had
little education, and it was my intention to go to school
next year." After moving to the new region of Kentucky,
Cartwright attended school, but was so persecuted on ac-
count of his religion that he soon gave up school and bq;an
to organize a circuit and engage in the work of the min-
istry. He had good success, organized a number of class-
meetings, and had many conversions.

Cartwright describes his call to the ministry and his
entire consecration and enduement with power from on
high as follows :

"Brother Garret, the new elder, called on me at my
father's and urged me to go on this Circuit with Brother
Lotspeich. My father was unwilling, but my mother
urged me to go, and finally prevailed This was in Oc-
tober, 1803, when I was a little over eighteen years of

234 PETER CARTWRIGHT

age. I had a hard struggle to give my consent, and al-
though I thought it my duty to preach, yet I thought I
could do this, and not throw myself into the ranks as a
circuit preacher, when I was liable to be sent from Green-
brier to Natchez ; no members hardly to support a preacher,
the Discipline only allowing a single man eighty dollars,
and in nine cases out of ten he could not get half that
amount. These were times that tried men's souls and
bodies too.

" At last I literally gave up the world, and started, bid-
ding farewell to father and mother, brothers and sisters,
and met brother Lotspeich at an appointment in Lpgan
County. He told me I must preach that night. This I had
never done; mine was an exhorter's dispensation. I tried
to beg off, but he urged me to make the effort. I went
out and prayed fervently for aid from heaven. All at once
it seemed to me as if I could never preach at all, but I
struggled in prayer. At length I asked God, if He had
called me to preach, to give me aid that night, and give me
one soul, that is, convert one soul under my preaching, as
evidence that I was called to this work.

" I went into the house, took my stand, gave out a
hymn, sang, and prayed. I then rose, gave them for a
text Isaiah xxvi. 4 : * Trust ye in the Lord for ever ; for
in the Lord Jehovah there is everlasting strength.' The
Lord gave light, liberty, and power ; the congregation was
melted into tears. There was present a professed infidel.
The word reached his heart by the eternal Spirit. He was
powerfully convicted, and, as I believe, soundly converted
to God that night, and joined the Church, and afterward
became a useful member of the same."

Cartwright must have received the baptism of the Spirit
in power while preaching that night. He felt his utter in*

PETER CARTWRIGHT 235

ability to preach without power from God, and wrestled
in prayer, like Jacob of old, until he obtained the blessing.
He was then nineteen years of age. He continued to preach
with great unction and power. His meetings were at-
tended by marvellous manifestations of spiritual power,
and multitudes of souls were won to Christ in them. Often
people were stricken down in his meetings under an over-
whelming conviction of sin. He had no sympathy with
fleshly excitements in his meetings, and always checked
them with an iron hand; and yet on the other hand he
was careful not to grieve the Spirit of God by checking or
quenching any genuine work or manifestation of the Holy
Spirit. He frequently describes his meetings in words such
as diese: ''Suddenly an awful power fell on the congre-
gation, and they instantly fell right and left, and cried aloud
for mercy."

He describes one camp-meeting thus : " The encamp-
ment was lighted up, the trumpet blown, I rose in the stand,
and required every soul to leave the tents and come into
the congregation. There was a general rush to the stand.
I requested the brethren, if ever they prayed in all their
lives, to pray now. My voice was strong and clear^ and
my preaching was more of an exhortation and encourage-
ment than anything else. My text was, * The gates of hell
shall not prevail.' In about thirty minutes the power of
God fell on the congregation in such a manner as is sel-
dom seen ; the people fell in every direction, right and left,
front and rear. It was supposed that not less than three
hundred fell like dead men in mighty battle; and there
was no need of calling mourners, for they were strewed
all over the camp-ground ; loud wailings went up to heaven
from sinners for mercy, and a general shout from Chris-
tians, so that the noise was heard afar off."

236 PETER CARTWRIGHT

In another place Cartwright says: "At our Brecken-
ridge Circuit camp-meeting the following incident occurred.
There were a brother S. and family, who were the owners
of a good many slaves. It was a fine family, and sister S.
was a very intelligent lady, and an exemplary Christian.
She had long sought the blessing of perfect love, but she
said the idea of holding her fellow-beings in bondage stood
out in her way. Many in this meeting sought and obtained
the blessing of sanctification ; Sister S. said her whole soul
was in an agony for that blessing, and it seemed to her
at times that she could almost lay hold, and claim the prom-
ise, but she said her slaves would seem to step right in
between her and her Saviour, and prevent its reception;
but while on her knees, and struggling as in an agony for
a clean heart, she then and there covenanted with the Lord,
if He would give her the blessing, she would give up her
slaves and set them free. She said this covenant had
hardly been made one moment when God filled her soul
with such an overwhelming sense of Divine love, that she
did not really know whether she was in or out of the body.
She rose from her knees, and proclaimed to listening hun-
dreds that she had obtained the blessing, and also the terms
on which she obtained it. She went through the vast crowd
with holy shouts of joy, and exhorting all to taste and see
that the Lord was gracious; and such a power attended
her words that hundreds fell to the ground, and scores of
souls were happily bom into the kingdom of God that
afternoon and during the night. Shortly after this they
set their slaves free, and the end of that family was peace.''

While passing over the Cumberland Mountains one
time, Cartwright was compelled to stop over night at a
house where there was to be a dance. Many of the people
had never heard a sermon. Cartwright sat in one comer

if

PETER CARTWRIGHT 237

of the room watching the dance. He made up his mind
to stay over next day (Sunday) and preach to the people.
I had hardly settled this point in my mind/' says he,
when a beautiful ruddy young lady walked very grace-
fully up to me, dropped a handsome courtesy, and pleas-
antly, with winning smiles, invited me out to take a dance
with her. I can hardly describe my thoughts or feeling
on that occasion. However, in a moment I resolved on a
desperate experiment. I rose as gracefully as I could; I
will not say with some emotion, but with many emotions.
The young lady moved to my right side ; I grasped her right
hand with my right hand, while she leaned her left arm
on mine. In this position we walked on the floor. The
whole company seemed pleased at this act of politeness in
the young lady, shown to a stranger. The colored man,
who was the fiddler, began to put his fiddle in the best
order. I then spoke to the fiddler to hold a moment, and
added that for several years I had not undertaken any mat-
ter of importance without first asking the blessing of God
upon it, and I desired now to ask the blessing of God upon
this beautiful young lady and the whole company, that had
shown such an act of politeness to a total stranger.

" Here I grasped the young lady's hand tightly, and
said, * Let us all kneel down and pray,' and then instantly
dropped on my knees, and commenced praying with all the
power of soul and body that I could command. The young
lady tried to get loose from me, but I held her tight. Pres-
ently she fell on her knees. Some of the company kneeled,
some stood, some fled, some sat still, all looked curious.
The fiddler ran off into the kitchen, saying, ' Lord a marcy,
what de matter ? what is dat mean ? '

" While I prayed, some wept, and wept out aloud, and
some cried for mercy. I rose from my knees and com-

2fi PETER CARTWRIGHT

menced an exhortation, after which I sang a hymn. The
young lady who invited me on the floor lay prostrate, cry-
ing for mercy. I exhorted again, I sang and prayed nearly
all night. About fifteen of that company professed re-
ligion, and our meeting lasted next day and next night,
and as many more were powerfully converted. I organ-
ized a society, took thirty-two into the church, and sent
them a preacher. My landlord was appointed leader, which
post he held for many years. This was the commencement
of a great and glorious revival of religion in that region of
the country, and several of the young men converted at the
Methodist preacher's dance became useful ministers of Je-
sus Christ.

In one of Cartwright's camp-meetings a little preacher,
fresh from the theological seminary, began to teach the
inquirers at the altar, just to resolve to be a Christian and
that would make them Christians. Cartwright objected to
this, and sent him out into the audience to exhort. The
power of God fell on a big man, weighing about 230
pounds, and he began to cry for mercy. The little preacher
exhorted him to "be composed," but he prayed on until
his soul was filled with joy. Then, in his ecstasy, he
picked up the little preacher, and ran about with him in
his arms, dancing for joy. The little preacher was pale
with fright, and was never seen again on the camp-ground.

At one appointment where the people had never heard
Cartwright preach, the weather was so bad that on the first
day only one person, a one-eyed man who was an elder
in the Presbyterian Church, came to hear him. He
preached his best for forty-five minutes. The elder spread
the news that it was the greatest sermon he ever heard.
Next time Cartwright found the house crowded to over-

PETER CARTWRIGHT 239

flowing and the whole hillside covered with horses and ve-
hicles.

Many persons in Cartwright's meetings were seized with
the strange exercise known as the "jerks." All over the
country this phenomenon accompanied the great Cumber-
land Revival. Some regarded it as a purely nervous af-
fection caused by suggestion, while others regarded it as
a peculiar manifestation or operation of the Holy Spirit,
Individuals seemed seized by a strange power which
caused them to jerk in a most mysterious manner, and the
more they resisted the more they jerked. Cartwright says :
" To see those proud young gentlemen and ladies, dressed
in their silks, jewelry and prunella, from top to toe, take
the jerks, would often excite my risibilities. The first jerk
or so, you would see their fine bonnets, caps, and combs
fly; and so sudden would be the jerking of the head, that
their long loose hair would crack almost as loud as a wag-
goner's whip."

Cartwright regarded the "jerks" as a genuine mani-
festation of God's Spirit, although he believed that excite-
ment often led people to counterfeit them. He says : " I
always looked upon the jerks as a judgment sent from
God, first, to bring sinners to repentance; and, secondly,
to show professors that God could work with or without
means." He tells of a drinking man who resisted the
"jerks" until they came to him so severely that when he
swore he would drink them off, and tried to raise a bottle
of whiskey to his lips, a jerk more severe than before broke
his neck. This happened at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, and
brought great conviction of sin on the people.

Cartwright was a large, square-shouldered man, with
some native ruggedness mingled with considerable humor.
His strength was sometimes used to quiet the rowdies who

240 PETER CARTWRIGHT

tried to disturb his meetings. His creed was ''to love
everybody and fear nobody/' and he sometimes thrashed
the worst rowdies and then proceeded with the meeting.
He saw nothing inconsistent in a Christian thrashing dis-
turbers of religious services, so long as it was done in a
spirit of love and not in a spirit of revenge.

Cartwright's sense of htunor is shown in the follow-
ing amusing incident. Like many other pioneer Methodist
preachers, he had but little education. A learned minister
of another denomination once addressed him publicly in
Greek, in order to bring him into contempt for his ignor-
ance. Cartwright listened as though he understood it all,
and then replied in German, of which language he had
learned considerable from a neighbor's children while he
was a boy. The minister, not understanding Hebrew and
supposing that Cartwright had answered him in Hebrew,
said that Cartwright was the first educated Methodist
preacher he had seen. It was not so much worldly learn-
ing as wisdom from above which enabled Cartwright to
win so many souls for Christ.

The grand old veteran, after enduring many hardships
and winning multitudes to the Saviour, fell asleep in Christ
at a good old age.

Charles G. Pinnev

CHARLES a FINNEY

The writer is inclined to r^^ard Giarles G. Finney as
the greatest evangelist and theologian since the days of the
apostles. It is estimated that during the year 1857-58 over
a hundred thousand persons were led to Christ as the
direct or indirect result of Finney's labours, while five
hundred thousand persons professed conversion to Christ
in the great revival which began in his meetings. Another
remarkable fact is that it was found by actual research
that over eighty-five in every hundred persons professing
conversion to Christ in Finney's meetings remained true
to God, whereas seventy per cent of those professing con-
version in the meetings of even so great an evangelist as
Moody afterwards became backsliders. Finney seems to
have had the power of impressing the consciences of men
with the necessity of holy living in such a manner as to
procure the most lasting results. It is said that at Gov-
emeur. New York, not a dance or theatrical play could be
held in the place for six years after Finney held meet-
ings there.

The "Autobiography of Charles G. Finney" :s per-
haps the most remarkable account of the manifestations of
the Holy Spirit's power since apostolic days. It is crowded
with accounts of spiritual outpourings which remind one
of the day of Pentecost. Finney's " Systematic Theol-
ogy" is probably the greatest work on theology outside

243

344 CHARLES G. FINNEY

the Scriptures. The wonderful anointing of God's Spirit,
combined with Finney's remarkable reasoning powers and
his legal training, enabled him to present clearer views of
Christian doctrine than has any other theologian since the
days of early Christianity. His views with regard to the
difference between physical and moral law and physical and
moral depravity, on the reasonableness of the moral law
and the atonement, and on the nature of r^eneration and
sanctification are the clearest of any the writer has had
the privilege of reading or hearing. Finney's teachings
probably did more than all other causes combined to bring
the Old School Calvinists over to a belief in man's free
agency and moral responsibility, or the views commonly
known as New School Calvinism.

Charles Grandison Finney was a descendant of the New
England Puritans, and was bom in Connecticut in 1792.
He removed with his parents to Western New York when
two years of age. This part of New York was then a
frontier wilderness, with few educational or religious priv-
ileges. Finney had a good common school education, how-
ever, and at twenty years of age he went to New England
to attend high school, but ixx>n afterward went to New
Jersey to teach school and to continue his studies. He be-
came quite proficient in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and in
other college studies. In 1818 he commenced the study of
law in the office of Squire Wright, of Adams, near his
old home in Western New York.

At Adams Finney had the first religious privileges
worthy of the name. During the three years he taught
school in New Jersey, about the only preaching in his
neighborhood was in German, and the preaching he heard
while at high school in New England was not of a kind
calculated to arrest his attention. The aged preacher he

CHARLES G. FINNEY 14S

heard there read old manuscript sermons in a monotonous,
humdrum way that made no serious impression on the
mind of Finney. Finney's parents were not professing
Christians, and in his childhood days in Western New York
the only preaching lie heard was during an occasional visit
from some itinerant preacher. At Adams, while studying
law, he attended the Presbyterian Church. The pastor^
George W. Gale, was an able and highly educated man.
His preaching, though of the Old School Calvinistic type,
arrested the attention of Finney, although to his keen and
logical mind it seemed like a mass of absurdities and con-
tradictions.

It was while studying law and attending church at
Adams that Finney became interested in Bible study. He
found so many references to the Scriptures in his law
books, he decided to buy himself a Bible, and he soon be-
came deeply absorbed in studying it. He had many con-
versations with Mr. Gale, who frequently dropped into the
office to talk with him, but they could scarcely agree on
any point of doctrine. This fact probably led Finney to
study the Scriptures much more diligently than though he
had agreed with Mr. Gale in everything. The fact that
the church members were constantly praying prayers which
did not seem to be answered, and to which they hardly
seemed to expect an answer, was a great drawback to
Finney. But he became more and more concerned about
his own soul. He felt that if there was a life beyond he
was not prepared for it. Some of the church members
wanted to pray for him, but he told them that he did riot
see that it would do any good t>ecause they were continu-
ally asking without receiving.

Finney remained in a skeptical yet troubled frame of
mind for two or three years. At last he came to a decision

«46 CHARLES G. FINNEY

tiiat the Bible was the true Word of God, and that it was
the fault of the people if their prayers were not answered
He was then brought face to face with the question as to
whether or not he would accept Christ. ''On a Sabbath
evening, in the autumn of 1821/' says he, ** I made up my
mind that I would settle the question of my soul's salva-
tion at once, that if it were possible I would make my peace
with God." He was obliged to be in the office, however,
and could not devote the entire time to seeking his soul's
salvation, although on the following Monday and Tuesday
he spent most of his time in prayer and reading the Scrip-
tures. Pride was the great obstacle which hindered him
from accepting Christ as his Saviour. He found that he
was unwilling that anyone should know that he was seek-
ing salvation. Before praying he stopped the keyhole of
the door, and then only prayed in a whisper for fear that
someone should hear him. If he was reading the Bible
when anyone came in, he would throw his law books oa
top of it to create the impression that he had been reading
them instead of the Bible.

During Monday and Tuesday his conviction of sin in-
creased, but his heart seemed to grow harder. Tuesday
night he had become very nervous, and imagined that he
was about to die, and sink into hell, but he quieted him-
self as best he could until morning. Next morning, on
the way to the office, he had as dear a view of the atone-
ment of Christ as he ever had afterwards. The Holy Spirit
seemed to present Christ hanging on the cross for him.
The vision was so clear that almost unconciously he stopped
in the middle of the street for several minutes when it
came to him. North of the village and over a hill lay a
piece of woods, or forest, and he decided to go there and
pour out his heart in prayer. So great was his pride, he

CHARLES G. FINNEY 247

kept out of sight so far as possible for fear that some one
should see him on the way to the woods and should think
that he was going there to pray. He penetrated far into
the woods where some large trees had fallen across each
other leaving an open space between. Into this space he
crept to pray. " But when I attempted to pray," says he,
" I found that my heart would not pray." He was in great
fear lest someone should come and find him praying. He
was on the verge of despair, having promised God not to
leave the spot until he settled the question of his soul's
salvation, and yet it seemed impossible to him to settle the
question. "Just at this moment," says he, " I again
thought I heard some one approach me, and I opened my
eyes to see whether it were so. But right there the revela-
tion of my pride of heart, as the great difficulty that stood
in the way, was distinctly shown me. An overwhelming
sense of my wickedness in being ashamed to have a human
being see me on my knees before God, took such power-
ful possession of me, that I cried at the top of my voice,
and exclaimed thatt I would not leave that place if all the
men on earth and all the devils in hell surrounded me."
He was completely humbled in soul by the thought of his
pride. Then the most comforting verses of Scripture
seemed to pour into his soul. He saw clearly that faith
was not an intellectual state but a voluntary act, and he
accepted the promise of God.

Promises of salvation, from both Old and New Testa-
ments, continued to pour into his soul, and he continued
to pray. " I prayed," says he, " uiltil my mind became so
full that, before I was aware of it, I was on my feet and
tripping up the ascent toward the road." On reaching
the village he found that it was noon, although he had gone
into the woods immediately after an early breakfast. He

248 CHARLES G. FINNEY

had been so absorbed in prayer that he had no idea of the
time. There was now a great cahn in his soul, and the
burden of sin had completely rolled away, yet he was
tempted /to believe that he was not yet born of God. He
went to his dinner, but found that he had no appetite. He
then went to the ofhce and took down his bass viol, and
began to play some hymns, but his soul was so overflow-
ing that he could not sing without weeping.

On the evening of the same day in which Finney re-
ceived the pardon of his sins, in the manner already de-
scribed, he received a mighty overwhelming baptism of the
Holy Spirit which started him immediately to preaching
the gospel. We will allow him to describe this filling of
the Spirit in his own words. Continuing the narrative of
his conversion, he says:

"After dinner we (Squire Wright and himself) were
engaged in removing the books and furniture to another
office. We were very busy in this, and had but little con-
versation all {he afternoon. My mind, however, remained
in that profoundly tranquil state. There was a great
sweetness and tenderness in my thoughts and feelings.
Everything appeared to be going right, and nothing seemed
to disturb me or ruffle me in the least.

"Just before evening the thought took possession of
my mind, that as soon as I was left alone in the new office,
I would try to pray again — that I was not going to aban-
don the subject of religion and give it up, at any rate; and
therefore, although I no longer had any concern about my
soul, still, I would continue to pray.

" By evening we got the books and furniture adjusted ;
and I made up, in an open fire-place, a good fire, hoping to
spend the evening alone. Just at dark Squire W , see-
ing that everything was adjusted, bade me good-night and

CHARLES G. FINNEY 249

went to his home. I had accompanied him to the door;
and as I closed the door and turned around, my heart
seemed to be liquid within me. All my feelings seemed to
rise and flow out ; and the utterance of my heart was, ' I
want to pour my whole soul out to God.' The rising of my
soul was so great that I rushed into the room back of the
front ofEce, to pray.

"There was no fire, and no light, in the room; never-
theless it appeared to me as if it were perfectly light. As
I went in and shut the door after me, it seemed as if I met
the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. It did not occur to me
then, nor did it for some time afterward, that it was wholly
a mental state. On the contrary it seemed to me that I
saw Him as I would see any other man. He said nothing,
but looked at me in such a manner as to break me right
down at His feet. I have always since regarded this as
a most remarkable state of mind; for it seemed to me a
reality, that He stood before me, and I fell down at His
feet and poured out my soul to Him. I wept aloud like a
child, and made such confession as I could with my choked
utterance. It seemed to me that I bathed His feet with my
tears; and yet I had no distinct impression that I touched
Him, that I recollect.

'* I must have continued in this state for a good while ;
but my mind was too much absorbed with the interview
to recollect anything that I said. But I know, as soon as
my mind became calm enough to break off from the inter-
view, I returned to the front office, and found that the
fire that I had made of large wood was nearly burned out.
But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the fire,
I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Without
any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in
my mind that there was any such thing for me, without

2S0 CHARLES G. FINNEY

any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned
by any person in the world, the Holy Ghost descended on
me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and
soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity,
going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come
in waves and waves of liquid love ; for I could not express
it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of
God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me,
like immense wings.

"No words can express the wonderful love that was
shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love;
and I do not know but I should say, I litersdly bellowed
out the unutterable gushings of my heart. The waves came
over me, and over me, one after the other, until I recol-
lect I cried out, * I shall die if these waves continue to
pass over me/ I said, ' Lord, I cannot bear any more ; '
yet I had no fear of death."

Finney continued for some time under this remarkable
manifestation of the Holy Spirit's power. Wave after
wave of spiritual power rolled over him, and through him,
thrilling every fibre of his being. Late in the evening a
member of his choir — for he was the leader of the choir —
came into the office. He was a member of the church,
but was astonished to see Finney weeping under the power
of the Spirit. After asking a few questions, he went after
an elder of the church who was a very serious man, but
who laughed with joy when he saw Finney weeping under
the Spirit's power. A young man who had associated much
with Finney came into the office while Finney was trying
to relate his experience to the elder and the member of
the choir. He listened with astonishment to what Finney
was saying, and suddenly fell upon the floor, crying out

CHARLES G. FINNEY 251

in the greatest agony of mind and sa}ring, "Do pray for
me!"

Although he had experienced so remarkable a baptism
of the Holy Spirit, Finney was tempted the same night,
when retiring to bed, to believe that he had been deluded
in some way or other, and that he had not received the
real baptism of the Spirit. " I soon fell asleep/' says he,
''but almost as soon woke again on account of the great
flow of the love of God that was in my heart. I was so
filled with love that I could not sleep. Soon I fell asleep
again and awoke in the same manner. When I awoke this
temptation would return upon me, and the love that seemed
to be in my heart would abate ; but as soon as I was asleep
it was so warm within me that I would immediately awake.
Thus I continued till, late at night, I obtained some sound
repose.

" When I awoke in the morning the sun had risen, and
was pouring a clear light into my room. Words cannot
express the impression that the sunlight made upon me.
Instantly the baptism that I had received the night before,
returned upon me in the same manner. I arose upon my
knees in the bed and wept aloud with joy, and remained
for some time too much overwhelmed with the baptism of
the Spirit to do anything but pour out my soul to God. It
seemed as if this morning's baptism was accompanied with
a gentle reproof, and the Spirit seemed to say to me, * Will
you doubt ? ' * Will you doubt ? ' I cried, ' No ! I will not
doubt; I cannot doubt.' He then cleared the subject up
so much to my mind that it was in fact impossible for me
to doubt that the Spirit of God had taken possession of
my soul."

On the morning just described Finney went to his of-
fice, and the waves of power continued to flood his soul.

252 CHARLES G. FINNEY

When Squire Wright came into the office, Finney said a
few words to him about the salvation of his soul. He made
no reply, but dropped his head and went away. Finney
says, " I thought no more of it then, but afterward found
that the remark I made pierced him like a swc^d; and he
did not recover from it till he was converted."

Almost every person Finney spoke to during the day
was stricken with conviction of sin and afterwards found
peace with God. His words seemed to pierce their hearts
like arrows. Although he had been fond of law, Finney
now lost all taste for it and for every other secular business.
His whole desire now was to preach the gospel and to win
men to Christ. Nothing else seemed of any consequence.
He left the office and went out to talk to individuals con-
cerning the salvation of their souls. Among those brought
to Christ through his efforts that day were a Universalist
and a distiller. During the day there had been much con-
versation and excitement concerning Finney's conversion,
and in the evening most of the people in the village gathered
at the church, although no meeting had been appointed so
far as Finney could learn. All the people seemed to be
waiting for him to speak, and he arose and related what

the Lord had done for his soul. A certain Mr. C , who

was present, was so convicted of sin that he arose and
rushed out and went home without his hat. Many others
were also deeply convicted of sin.. Finney spoke and
prayed with liberty, although he had never prayed in public
before. The meeting was a wonderful one, and from that
day meetings were held every night for some time. The
revival spread among all classes in the village and to many
surrounding places. All of Finney's former companioosy
with one exception, were brought to Christ.

CHARLES G. FINNEY aS3

Finney soon visited his home at Henderson, New York,
and his parents were brought to Christ. On his return
to Adams, he continued his meetings, and spent much time
in fasting and prayer. One time as he approached the meet-
ing-house ''a light perfectly ineffable" shone in his soul,
and almost prostrated him to the ground. It seemed
greater than the light of the noon-day sun, as did the light
which prostrated Saul on the way to Damascus. Many
were brought to Christ, and some were healed in body, in
answer to Finney's prayers. He now learned what it was
to have real travail of soul for the unsaved. " When Zion
travails she shall bring forth" became a precious promise
to him.

* Soon after receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit,
Finney had a lengthy conversation with his pastor, Mr.
Gale, concerning the advisability of preparing for the min-
istry. Mr. Gale was a graduate of Princeton University,
but was a firm believer in the Old School Calvinistic doc-
trines, which to Finney's mind seemed very absurd and
contradictory. Mr. Gale and he could scarcely agree on
any point of doctrine. Mr. Gale believed in the doctrine
of a limited atonement, or that Christ died only for the
elect, while Finney believed that He died for all. Mr.
Gale held that men were so depraved by nature that they
had no free agency, while Finney believed that all men
had the power to accept or reject salvation. Mr. Gale be-
lieved that Christ paid the exact penalty of the sinner, while
Finney believed that He did not bear the exact penalty but
that He bore sufficient penalty to enable God to forgive
sin without mankind thinking that He was allowing sin to
go unpunished. Notwithstanding their differences Finney,
in 1822, placed himself under the care of the Presbytery
as a candidate for the ministry. Some of the ministers

254 CHARLES G. FINNEY

urged him to go to Princeton, but he declined. They then
appointed Mr. Gale to superintend his studies. His studies,
so far as Mr. Gale was concerned, were only a series of
controversies, but be made good use of Mr. Gale's library.
He felt that he would rather not preach than teach the
doctrines held by Mr. Gale, but a good elder in the church
who held similar views to Finney gave him much encour-
agement, and prayed with him frequently. During the few
months that Finney studied under Mr. Gale a Universalist
minister came to Adams and greatly disturbed the faith of
many. Finney replied to his arguments and completely
overthrew them.

The Presbytery was finally called together at Adams,
in 1824, and licensed Finney to preach. The two written
sermons he prepared for them were, with two exceptions,
the only written sermons he ever prepared. He tried one
other time to preach from a written sermon, but believed
that it hindered the Spirit of God from speaking through him.

Finney's first regular meetings were held at Evans Mills,
Oneida County, New York. The people praised his ser-
mons, but for two or three weeks no one decided for Christ
Then Finney urged all who were willing to accept Christ
to rise to their feet and all who were willing to reject him
to remain on their seats. This was very unusual in those
days, and made the people so angry that they were almost
ready to mob Finney. Next day he spent the day in fast-
ing and prayer, and in the evening preached with such unc-
tion and power that a great conviction of sin swept over
the people. All night long they were sending for him to
come and pray with them. Even hardened atheists were
brought to Christ.

He continued to preach the gospel, with increasing
power and results, visiting many of the leading cities of

CHARLES G. FINNEY 255

and Great Britain. Sometimes the power of God
was so manifest in his meetings that almost the entire au^
dience fell on their knees in prayer or were prostrated on
the floor. When in the pulpit he sometimes felt almost
lifted off his feet by the power of the Spirit of God. Some
persons believe that the moral work of the Holy Spirit is
not accompanied by any physical manifestations; but both
in Bible times and in Finney's meetings remarkable phys-
ical manifestations seemed to accompany the moral work
of the Holy Spirit when the moral work was deep and pow-
erful. At times, when Finney was speaking, the power
of the Spirit seemed to descend like a cloud of glory upon
him. Often a hallowed calm, noticeable even to the un-
saved, seemed to settle down upon cities where he was hold-
ing meetings. Sinners were often brought under convic**
tion of sin almost as soon as they entered these cities.

Finney seemed so anointed with the Holy Spirit that
people were often brought under conviction of sin just by
looking at him. When holding meetings at Utica, New
York, he visited a large factory there and was looking at
the machinery. At the sight of him one of the operatives,
and then another, and then another broke down and wept
under a sense of their sins, and finally so many were sob-
bing and weeping that the machinery had to be stopped
while Finney pointed them to Christ.

At a country place named Sodom, in the state of New
York, Finney gave one address in which he described the
condition of Sodom before God destroyed it. '' I had not
spoken in this strain more than a quarter of an hour/' says
he^ " when an awful solemnity seemed to settle upon them ;
the congregation began to fall from their seats in every
direction, and cried for mercy. If I had had a sword in
each hand, I could not have cut them down as fast as they

2S6 CHARLES G. FINNEY

fell. Nearly the whole congregation were either on Iheir
knees or prostrate, I should think, in less than two minutes
from the first shock that fell upon them. Every one prayed
who was able to speak at all.*' Similar scenes were wit-
nessed in many other places.

In London, England, between 1,500 and 2,000 persons
were seeking salvation in one day in Finney's meetings.
Enormous numbers inquired the way of salvation in his
meetings in New York, Boston, Rochester, and many other
important cities of America. The great revival of 1858-
1859, one of the greatest revivals in the world's history,
was the direct result of his meetings. " That was the
greatest work of God, and the greatest revival of religion
the world has ever seen," says Dr. Lyman Beecher. It
is estimated that six hundred thousand persons were
brought to Christ in this revival.

In 1833 Finney became a Congregationalist, and later
a founder and first President of Oberlin College, Ohio.
The great object in founding this college was to train stu-
dents for the ministry. The remainder of Finney's time
was divided between his work at Oberlin and holding meet-
ings in different parts of the country.

Finney's writings have had an enormous circulation and
have greatly influenced the religious life of the world. This
is especially true of his "Autobiography," his "Lectures on
Revivals," " Lectures to Professing Christians," and his
" Systematic Theology." These books have all had a world-
wide circulation.

Finney continued to preach and to lecture to the stu-
dents at Oberlin until two weeks before he was eighty-three
years of age, when he was called up higher to enjoy the
reward of Uiose who have '^ turned many to righteousnessr**

i

BILLY BRAY

God sometimes uses weak vessels in a most marvel-
lous way. " Billy " Bray, the famous Cornish miner, was
perhaps one of the quaintest vessels ever used of God to
accomplish a great work of any kind. Before his conver-
sion to Christ he was a drunken profligate miner, but after
the Spirit of the Lord took possession of him he became
such a burning shining light for Christ that his name is now
known all over the world. From one end of Cornwall, Eng-
land, to the other scarcely any name is better known than
that of Billy Bray.

Billy Bray was bom in 1794, at Twelveheads, a village
near Truro, in Cornwall, England. His grandfather had
joined the Methodists under the preaching of John Wesley.
Billy's father was also a Christian, but died when his chil-
dren were all quite young. Billy lived with his grandfather
until he was seventeen years of age, and then went to
Devonshire, where he lived a very wicked and sinful life.
He was both drunken and lascivious. One night he and
a companion were going home drunk from Tavistock when
they met a big horse and climbed on his back. He threw
them and nearly killed them. He had many other narrow
escapes from death. After his conversion to Christ he often
said, " The Lord was good to me when I was the servant
of the Devil or I should have been down in hell now."
Once he was nearly killed in a mine. He ran out just aoout

259

a6o BILLY BRAY

a minute before the mine caved in. He became so great
a drunkard that his wife had to bring him away from the
beer shop night after night. " I never got drunk without
feeling condemned for it," he afterwards said.

Billy was led<o Christ, or rather, was convicted of sin,
through reading Bunyan's " Visions of Heaven and Hell."
When he was seeking the Lord he went a mile one Sunday
morning to attend a class-meeting of the Bible Christians.
It was a wet day, and no one came. This had a discourag-
ing effect on him. After he had been seeking salvation for
a long time, the Devil strongly tempted him to believe that
he never would find mercy. " But," says he, " I said to
him ' Thou art a liar, Devil,' and as soon as I said so, I felt
the weight gone from my mind, and I could praise the Lord,
but not with that liberty that I could afterwards." The
same day, in the evening after he had gone home from
work, he went into his room alone and said, " Lord, Thou
hast said, * They thai ask shall receive, and they that seek
shall find^ and to them that knock the door shall be opened,'
and I have faith enough to believe it." This brought joy to
his soul. ** In an instant," says he, " the Lord made me
so happy that I cannot express what I felt. I shouted for
joy." This was in 1823.

After his conversion Billy became a very happy Chris-
tian, and also a very earnest worker for the salvation of
others. This was especially true after he was led into a
deeper richer, and fuller Christian experience than he had
received when converted to Christ The following account
of how he was led into this deeper experience is from
" The King's Son, A Memoir of BiUy Bray," by F. W.
Bourne: " It is more important to speak of his deep piety,
his abiding sense of the Divine favour, the secret of bis
great usefulness, the source of his constant and perpetual

BILLY BRAY a6i

joy. The ' much fruit,' which is so pleasing to God, can-
not come except the roots have struck deep into the soil.
Religion is not shallow in its nature. * The water that I
shall give you/ said the Saviour, ' shall be in you a well
of water springing up into everlasting life.' To be sancti-
fied wholly,' to use an apostolic phrase, Billy very early in
his religious history felt to be both his duty and privilege.
' I remember being,' he says, ' at Hick's Mill Chapel one
Sunday morning at class-meeting when a stranger led the
class. The leader asked one of our members whether he
could say that the Lord had cleansed him from all sin, and
he could not. " That/' I said in my mind, " is sanctifica-
tion; I will have that blessing by the help of the Lord/'
and I went on my knees at once, and cried to the Lord to
sanctify me wholly, body, spirit, soul. And. the Lord said
to me, ** Thou art clean through the word I have spoken
unto thee." And I said, " Lord, I believe it/' When the
leader came to me I told him, ''Four months ago I was
a great sinner against God. Since that time I have been
justified freely by His g^ace, and while I have been here
this morning, the Lord has sanctified me wholly." When I
had done telling what the Lord had done for me, the leader
said, " If you can believe it, it is so." Then I said, " I can
believe it." When I had told him so, what joy filled my
heart I cannot find words to tell. After meeting was over, I
had to go over a railroad, and all around me seemed so full
of glory that it dazzled my sight. I had a "joy unspeak-
aUe and full of glory." ' From one expression in this nar-
rative some may dissent. It seems injudicious, to say the
least, to tell a believer that he is sanctified if he believes
he is. Of tell a penitent that he is saved if he only believes
he is. There is a more excellent way. But henceforth Billy
lived not to himself, but to Him who died for him and rose

262 BILLY BRAY

again. He set the Lord always before him. His path was
like the shining light, his own favorite figure, that shineth
more and more to the perfect day. Justified, sanctified,
sealed, were successive steps in Christian experience; more
clear to him perhaps than to others. His faith did not
become feeble, but waxed stronger and stronger ; his love to
the Saviour grew in intensity till it became the absorbing
passion of his soul ; and his hope brightened into heavenly
radiance and splendor. The freshness, the delicacy and
fragrance of richest Christian experience seemed always to
be his."

After the experience related above Billy often felt the
love of God overflowing his soul, so much so that he fre-
quently shouted aloud or danced for very joy. His Chris-
tian experience was so happy, so bright, so trustful, and so
sunshiny that many of the great persons of the earth have
been greatly interested in the story of his life. Among these
were Queen Victoria, Spurgeon, and many leading min-
isters of Britain and America. His name is a household
word throughout Cornwall where he labored so earnestly
for the salvation of others.

Billy did not have the gloomy, dismal, sorrowful re-
ligion which so many professing Christians seem to have.
His was the joyous, victorious Christian experience which
attracts sinners to Christ as honey attracts the bees. Sin-
ners want a religion which will give them victory over sin,
and wherever this kind of religion is preached souls arc
won to Christ But the gloomy dismal testimony does not
attract souls to Christ. In the Methodist Church at St
Blazey Billy heard the people telling about their many trials
and difficulties. He arose smiling, and clapping his hands
said : " Well, friends I have been taking vinegar and honey,
Wt, praise the Lord, I've had the vinegar with a spoon and

BILLY BRAY 263

ffie lioney with a ladle/' His testimony was always one of
joy and victory. Speaking concerning the Lord, he says:
" He has made me glad and no one can make me sckd; He
makes me shout and no one can make me doubt; He it is
that makes me dance and leap, and there is no one that can
keep down my feet. I sometimes feel so much of the
power of Gkxi that, I believe, if they were to cut off my
feet I should heave up the stumps."

Billy often literally danced for very joy. One time he
got so happy on his way home from market that he danced
a new frock for his little girl out of the basket in which
he was carrying it. It was found later and was returned
to him. Some objected to his dancing and shouting, but
Billy justified himself by referring to how Miriam and
David danced before the Lord, and to the example of the
cripple at Lystra who, after he was healed, leaped and
walked and praised God. Billy also said that it was proph-
esied that ' the lame man shall leap as an hart' " I can't
help praising God," he once said. " As I go along the street
I lift up one foot, and it seems to say ' Glory ! ' and I lift
up the other, and it seems to say, ' Amen ; ' and so they keep
on like that all the time I am walking." Even when his
wife died, Billy jumped about the room with joy, exclaim-
ing: " Bless the Lord! My dear Joey is gone up with the
bright ones! My dear Joey is gone up with the shining
angels! Glory! Glory! Glory!" He believed that afflic-
tions were a special mark of God's favor, and that Christians
ought to rejoice in them.

To those who objected to his shouting so much, Billy
once said: "If they were to put me in a barrel, / would
shout glory out through the bung-hole! Praise the Lord! "
Some one asked him one time, when he was praising the
Lordy if be did not think that people sometimes got in such

a64 BILLY BRAY

a habit of praismg the Lord that they did not know \Aiai
they were saying. He very coolly replied thai he did not
think that the Lord was much troubled with that class of
persons. At a meeting at Hick's Mill, in 1866, a Mr. Oliver
told how triumphantly a dying woman expired shouting vic-
tory. " Glory ! " shouted Billy. " If a dying woman praised
the Lord, I should think a living man might." When Billy
heard the news of a certain preacher's death, he said, " So
he has done with the doubters and has got up with the
shouters/'

" Some can only eat out of the sUent dish/' says Billy,
** But I can not only eat out of that, but out of the shouting
dish, and jumping dish and every other." He often spoke
of his determination to enjoy the abundance of his Father's
house. " My comrades used to tell me," said he, " that was
no religion, dancing, shouting, and making so much 'to-do/
But T wan horn in thr fire n nd could not t ivD in thr Ttiifrfcf'*

When Billy met people he often urged them to say
** Amen," and if they did not do so he was not satisfied with
their Christian experience. The first thing he inquired on
meeting any one was about their soul, and if he got an as-
suring answer he would shout for joy. He would shout
for joy when he heard of souls being saved anywhere. He
would sometimes pick people up and carry them around
for very joy. He picked up several ministers and carried
them about in this way, when he became very happy in the
meetings. Such actions caused some people to criticise him.
" They said I was a mad-mzn, but they meant I was a glad-
man," says he.

Like all great soul winners, Billy spent much time in
prayer. Before going anywhere he would ask the Lord to
keep the Devil from scratching him while away. He feared

BILLY BRAY 265

the DevU, and so " cut his ould daws '' in this way. The
devil was very real to him.

When tempted by Satan at one time, Billy said : " What
an old fool thee art now; I have been battling with thee
for twenty-eight years, and I have always beat thee, and
I always shall." One time, when his potato crop was very
poor, Satan tempted him to believe that God did not love
him, or He would have given him a better potato crop.
Billy recognized this as a temptation from the Devil, and
he said: "Why, I've got your written character home to
my house ; and it do say, sir, that you be ' a liar from the
beginnin.' " He told the Devil that when he served him
he "had only rags and no 'taturs.'" He then recounted
God's blessings until the Devil " went off like as if he'd
been shot."

Some of the rowdies, knowing that Billy had a very
strong belief in Satan, and a very wholesome fear of him,
thought they would frighten him by hiding near the road
at night, and making unearthly noises. Billy paid no at-
tention to their noises but went on his way singing. At
last one of them near the road said, " But I'm the Devil
up here in the hedge, Billy Bray." " Bless the Lord ! bless
the Lord!" exclaimed Billy, "/ did not know thee wast
so far away as that.'*

Not only did Billy pray much, but like all others who
pray much he had great faith in the Lord, and his prayers
were often answered in a most remarkable manner. One
time his child was very sick, and his wife feared it would
die and urged him to go for a doctor. Billy took all the
money he had, which was eighteen pence (about 36 cents),
and started after a doctor. On the way he met a poor man
who had lost a cow, and who was trying to get enough
money to purchase another. His story touched Billy's

266 BILLY BRAY

heart so much that he gave him the eighteen pence. Not
having any money left he could not go for a doctor. He
then went behind a hedge and told his heavenly Father
all about it and asked for the child's healing. It soon got
well.

One day when Billy had no money, not having received
his wages for sotpe time, he took the matter to the Lord
in prayer. He had bacon and potatoes but no bread in
the house. He went to the captain of the mine and bor-
rowed ten shillings ($2.50). On the way home he found
two families more destitute than himself. He gave them
each five shillings and went home without any money. His
wife felt blue, but Billy affirmed that the Lord would not
remain in their debt very long. Soon a sovereign ($5)
was given to them by a lady.

Billy said that he was working for a big firm, — ^thc
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and he had great confidence
in them. Once he said : " If Billy gets work, he praises
the Lord ; when he gets none, he sings all the same. Do'e
think that he'll starve Billy? No, no, ther's sure to be a
bit of flour in the bottom of the barrel for Billy. I can
trust in Jesus, and while I trust 'im, He'd as soon starve
Michael the Archangel as He'd starve Billy."*

Billy was a hard worker. He often worked twenty
hours out of the twenty-four, building meeting houses with
his own hands after working his regular shift in the mines.
One time he went to the town of St. Ives to get mon^
for one of his chapels. But the run of fish had been so
poor that the fishermen did not have any money to give
him. Billy and others prayed earnestly for fish and the
fishermen caught thousands upon thousands.

Billy worked and prayed earnestly for the salvation
of souls, and won many to Christ. About a year after

BILLY BRAY a67

his conversion his name was placed on the Local Preach-
ers' roll of the Bible Christian Church, a branch of the
Methodists. But he was more of an exhorter than a
preacher, although he often conducted and spoke in meet-
ings. His principal work in soul winning was probably
done outside the pulpit, for he was always busy trying to
win souls for Christ. He would pray for his fellow miners
before they went to work in the mornings. " Lord," he
would say, '' if any of us must be killed, or die to-day, let
it be m^; let not one of these men die, for they are not
happy and I am, and if I die to-day I shall go to heaven."
He often visited the sick and dying. When ministering
to the dying he often expressed a wish that he might
" see them in heaven, dressed in robes of glorious bright-
ness ; " for," he would add in his quietest vein of humor,
" if I saw them there, / must be there myself too. They
say that every man has got a little of self, and so have I
too."

One time when Billy was walking over a certain hill
the Lord seemed to say to him : " I will give thee all that
dwell on this mountain." He prayed for and visited the
people in the three houses on the hill until they were all
brought to the Lord. Then he complained to the Lord
that there were only three houses on the hill, and the Lord
showed him there would be more. Long after this an Epis-
copal Church and parsonage were built on the hill. Billy
heard of it and visited the church. He was disgusted to
find the preacher a " Puseyite," or extreme High Church-
man. This made him unhappy until he reflected that he
had visited the place before the Lord told him to do so.
After some time the clergyman's gardener, who was also
a ritualist, was converted to Christ. His pastor was dis-
pleased, but was afterwards deeply convicted of sin and

95B BILLY BRAY

was himself converted to Christ. One night, about 11:30
o'clock, as Billy was going to bed, the Lord showed him
that he could now visit the hilL He hitched up the
donkey-cart and started, reaching the hill the next morn-
ing. The pastor heard someone coming through the hall-
way praising the Lord, and guessed that it was Billy Bray.
He and his wife and servants and Billy Bray had a great
time of rejoicing together. Billy Aen visited the other
houses on the hill and found the people all converted, and
he was almost beside himself with joy.

Billy used some very original illustrations in his ser-
mons. Before his conversion he was an inveterate smoker.
He would sooner have gone into the mine without his
dinner than without his pipe. But the Lord so thoroughly
saved him from this filthy habit that he threw away his
pipe and became an opponent of the use of tobacco in
every form. He frequently said that if the Lord had in-
tended people to snuff he would have turned their noses
upside down, and that if he had intended them to smoke
He would have put a chimney in the back of their heads.
He said that an architect who would build a house so that
all the smoke had to come out at the front door was in
his opinion a very poor architect, and surely the Lord
could not be a worse architect than man. There is much
truth in this. If meat placed in a smoke-house will smoke
to the bone in a very short time, it is little wonder if, as
an able physician informed the writer, the inside of the
skull of an inveterate smoker is c':en darkened by to-
bacco smoke. Not only did Billy oppose the use of to-
bacco, but he was also a strong advocate of temperance.
** Men set lime-sticks to catch birds,'' says he, ** and Satan
sets wine-bottles and ale-pots to catch fools."

BILLY BRAY 9^

Worldly dress and extravagance were also things of
which Billy did not approve. '' I would rather walk to
heaven than ride to hell in a fine carriage/' says he. Some-
times he would say to women, concerning the use of arti-
ficial flowers : '' I wouldn't mind your having a waggon-
load of them on your heads, if that would do you any
good ; but you know it wouldn't, and all persons know that
Aawers only grow in soft places." To men who wore
long beards to be in fashion, and argued that it was nat-
ural to do so, Billy pointed out the fact that it would be
folly to let fruit trees grow in their natural state without
pruning. Speaking concerning fasting, Billy says: ''If
the members of the churches would mortify the flesh more,
and not gratify it, they would be much happier than they
are." When some one asked Billy how the world was get-
ting on now, he said : " I don't know, for I haven't been
there for twelve years."

Billy was a poor singer, but was often singing. He
affirmed that the Lord liked to hear him sing. " Oh, yes,
bless the Lord ! I can sing," he would say. '' My heavenly
'Father likes to hear me sing as well as those who can
sing better than I can. My Father likes to hear the crow
as well as the nightingale."

After a nice meeting-house was built in one place, Bilty
was called on with others to speak at the dedication. '* I
told the people," says he, ''that the dear Lord had given
them a pretty chapel to worship in; and now he wanted
good furniture, for bad furniture looks disgraceful in a
good house. I told them that the good furniture for the
house of the Lord was sanctified souls. We must be par-
doned, sanctified, and sealed, and then we shall not only
be fit for the Lord's house on earth, but we shall be good
furniture in heaven."

ajo BILLY BRAY

Billy had one Qlustration which always appealed very
forcibly to the miners. He represented himself as work-
ing all week at a poor mine, where the pay was very poor,
and then on pay-day going to a good mine, where the
wages were good, to get his pay. He asked if that would
not be a very foolish thing to do, and then pointed out
how that many people are working for Satan and expect-
ing God to save them at last.

When Billy lay dying, and the doctor told him that
he was going to die, he said: "Glory! glory be to God I
I shall soon be in heaven.'' He then added, in his own
peculiar way, "When I get up there, shall I give them your
compliments, doctor, and tell them you will be coming toof
This made a deep impression on the doctor. Billy's dying
word was " Glory !" Some little time before dying, he
said: "What! me fear death! me lost! Why, my Sav-
iour conquered death. If I was to go down to hell I
would shout glory ! glory ! to my blessed Jesus until I made
the bottomless pit ring again, and the miserable old Satan
would say, * Billy, Billy, this is no place for thee : get thee
back!' Then up to heaven I should go, shouting glory!
glory! praise the Lord!" Billy fell asleep in Christ in
1868. The following verse is from Mr. John's poetical
tribute to Billy:

** His fare was sometimes scanty,

And earnest was the fight;
But his dear Lord provided,

And with him all was right.
His dress was always homely —

His dwelling somewhat poor.
But the presence of his Saviour

Made up for that and more.

'^t

Elder Jacob Knapp

ELDER JACOB KNAPP

Elder Jacob Knapp, the famous evangelist, was so en-
dued with power from on high that his name at one time
was almost a synonym for spiritual power. So many peo-
ple professed conversion in his meetings that he finally
lost count of them, and he gave up the effort after he
passed the hundred thousand mark.

Elder Knapp was a pioneer in evangelistic work. He
was probably the first man, at least in the Northern part
of the United States, to devote his entire time to evange-
listic woiic. There were few evangelists in those days.
This important New Testament office was well nigh neg-
lected. This was no doubt partly owing to the prevalence
of Old School Calvinism. Calvinists of the Old School
believed that God would save His own elect in His own
way and in His own time, without the urgent appeals of
evangelists. They were afraid that evangelists would per-
suade those who were not God's elect to make a profes-
sion of religion. Many would not even pray for tfie sal-
vation of their own children for fear that they might not
be among God's elect. This belief has been one of the
greatest, if not the greatest, of all hindrances to evange-
listic work. The labors of Wesley, and of the great evan-
gelists, Finney and Moody, did much to overthrow this
fatalistic belief. But Elder Knapp met with much oppo-
sition from his well-meaning but deluded hyper-Calvan-
istic brethreii« and yet his labors were so richly blessed ol

^3

274 ELDER JACOB KNAPP

God that great multitudes were omverted to Christ tmder
his ministry.

Jacob Knapp was bom in the State of New York, Dec.
7f ^779' His parents were in moderate circumstances.
They were Episcopalians, and Knapp was brought up to
attend church and was taught the Creed and Catechism
from his infancy. " My mind/' says he, " was early, and
at times, deeply impressed with divine truth. From the
first of my remembrance I had seasons of secret prayer,
and of deep anxiety about the future welfare of my soul;
but I was not led to hope in Christ until the stunmer of
my seventeenth year, when it pleased God to take from
me my dear mother."

The death of his mother made a deep impression upon
him and drove him to prayer, studying his Bible, and to
the house of God, with more earnestness than he had ever
felt before. He was under so deep conviction of sin that
he could find no rest of soul. " I often repaired to the
bam or grove in the silent hours of the night, and poured
out my soul in prayer to God," says he. He was so dis-
tressed about his soul that his health b^fan to decline.
"At length," says he, "one Lord's day moming, I took
my Bible and hymn-book, and repaired to the woods, with
a determination never to return without relief to my soul.
I went some distance from human sight or hearing, laid
myself down on a grassy knoll, and prayed and read, and
read and prayed." He prayed earnestly and suffered much
agony of soul. " But," says he, " to the joy and rapture
of my soul, after a short space of time passed in this con-
dition, my load of guilt was gone. I rose up quickly,
turned my eyes toward heaven, and thought I saw Jesus
descending with His arms extended for my reception. My
soul leaped within me, and I broke forth into singing
praises to the blessed Saviour. The sweet melodies of tfie

ELDER JACOB KNAPP 275

s seemed to make harmony wiA the songs, and» as I
ed around, the sun shone with a lustre not its own,
majestic trees, swaying to the gentle breeze, appeared
ow in sweet submission to the will of heaven. All
re smiled, and everything, animate and inanimate,
;ed God with a voice (though unheard before) too loud
too plain to be misunderstood/' ^

^ven after so bright a conversion, Knapp relapsed into
ck-slidden state, after ten months or a year, and be-
t so wicked as to make sport of religion. But con-
^n of sin often pierced his heart like a dagger and
»ften had great compunctions of conscience. Finally
romised to attend a dance. There was a prayer-meet-
in the Baptist Church on the same night. He became
verwhelmed with the thought of his sinfulness that
vent to the prayer-meeting instead of to the dance,
there, within hearing of the dancing music, he and
ral companions wept and prayed their way back to

This was the means of bringing about a revival in
place, and sixty of the young people were led to
St. Knapp was then baptized and united with the
:ist Church, and soon became an earnest worker for
salvation of souls. He organized prayer-meetings in
leighborhood of his home, and a number of souls were
to Christ.

Vlien he was about twenty years of age, his father
ted to give him a farm and means to start life for
elf, but Jacob had great desires and ambitions for an
ation. He felt that God was calling him to the work
le ministry. By doing chores and working hard dur-
vacation, and after many severe trials from poverty
Ignorance he at last managed to obtain a fair educa-

He had prayed much in secret that God would dis-
le his mind and provide for his daily needs. During

276 ELDER JACOB KfTAPP

this time he had led the meetings in a Baptist Churdi
which had no pastor. In about two months nearly all tHe
young people were led to God.

For some time Knapp taught school, and held many
meetings in school-houses and other places. Although ht
did not pretend to preach regular sermons, many souls
were won to Christ through his labors. Yet he felt so
keenly his inability to preach that he decided to abandon
the idea. But ''trouble rolled in like a flood" until he
felt driven to request his church to give him a license to
preach. He preached his trial sermon and was licensed to
preach in 1822, when twenty-three years of age. He then
spent some time in theological training at Hamilton Uni-
versity, which had just been tounded. While there he
preached in a number of places, but through trying to
preach in a manner to please men and not to give offence,
he lost much of his joy and power.

In 1825 he received his diploma and became pastor of
a church at Springfield, New York^ where he remained as
pastor for five years. About sixty persons professed con-
version to Christ in his church during this time. He then
became pastor of a church at Watertown, New York.
Here he remained for about three years, and although the
church was small and poor, he baptized about two hun*
dred converts during that time.

In 1833 Knapp felt a definite call to ^e evangelistic
work. Many of his Calvinistic brethren were bitterly op-
posed to his engaging in work of this kind, as they did
not believe in revival meetings. He hega^ to hold pro-
tracted meetings, however, and many souls were brot^ffat
to a decision for Christ in these meetings.

"\t length I was advised by Dr. Nathaniel Kendridc,"
says he, '* to take an appointment from the Board of the
Baptist Convention of the State of New York, as an evan-

ELDER JACOB KNAPP rp

gdist in Jefferson and Osw^o Counties. I thought favor-
ably of this suggestion, imagining that such an appoint-
ment would increase my influence and tend to silence my
opposers. I therefore went to the meeting of the Conven-
tion, about a hundred and forty miles distant. I had not
mingled with the brethren long before I found that some,
wh(»n I had counted as friends, were disposed to treat
me with coolness. Though endorsed by such a man as
Dr. Kendricky whose weight of personal influence was
everywhere reo^^nized, yet my application was instantly
met by a decided opposition. One must tell what he had
heard, another explain his views of the gospel method,
until, after a lengthy debate, in which some cried one
thing and some another, it was resolved to refer the ques-
tion of my appointment to a committee. This committee
made an adverse report, and my application was rejected.
Overwhelmed with grief and mortification, I started to fill
an engagement to preach in Loraine, a distance of about
one hundred and fifty miles. The Lord brought me safe-
ly on my way some fifty miles, when my horse sickened
and died. I got a brother to take me to Oswego, and then
I went on board a boat for Sackett's Harbor. Shortly
after we had started, 'there arose a mighty tempest, and,
for a while there appeared but little chance for any of
our lives. But my own spirits were so depressed that I
seemed to have but little choice between life and death.
I thought myself in perils by sea, in perils by land, and
in perils by false brethren.' But God preserved me for
greater joys and greater sorrows than any I had hitherto
experienced.

"For a short time the effect of my rejection by the
Board of the Convention was very disheartening. I had
hoped to secure, by an appointment, a greater influence
among the churches, the more positive countenance of

278 ELDER JACOB KNAPP

some of the ministers who had hitherto been sitting on
the fence, hesitating as to which side to get down on, and
also to silence the active opposition of those who had
avowed their hostility to my course; but it was not long
before I found that my difficulties in these directions were
on the increase. The non-commital became outspoken
against me, and those heretofore opposed became violent
and abusive. My soul was in deep trouble and I knew
not which way to turn.

' " But in my distress I cast my burdens on the Lord.
I sought to know the will of God. I cried unto the Lord;
and, blessed he His name, very soon He made known His
ways, and lifted upon me the light of His countenance.
After spending one whole day in fasting and prayer, and
continuing my fast until midnight, the place where I was
staying was filled with the manifested glory of God. His
presence appeared to me, not exactly in visible form, but
as really to my recognition as though He had come in per-
son, and a voice seemed to say to me, 'Hast thou ever
lacked a field in which to labor?* I answered, 'Not a
day.' 'Have I not sustained thee, and blessed thy labors?'
I answered, *Yea, Lord.' 'Then learn that henceforth
thou art not dependent on thy brethren, but on me. Have
no concern but to go on in thy work. My grace shall be
sufficient for thee.'

" From that night I felt willing to sacrifice the good
opinion of my brethren, as I had previously sacrificed the
favor of the world, and swing off from all dependencies
but God. Up to this time I had concerned myself too
much about the opinions of other and older brethren, dis-
trusting my youth and inexperience. But the Lord taught
me that He was my only and infallible guide. I joyously
acquiesced in His will, and from that day to this have
rested in His divine manifestation. Ahl how reluctant

ELDER JACOB KNAPP 279

we are to deave to the Lord! How prone to ding to
creature dependendes. Since I have endeavored to seek
divine direction as to all my fields of labor, I have learned
that it is possible for me, generally, to gain as dear im-
pressions of the will of God concerning my duty as though
it was announced in audible tones.

" In the manifestation of God's presence to me, He
cast no reflections on those of my ministerial brethren
who differed from me, but, in the most tender manner,
bade me to leave them to pursue their own way, and cleave
only to Him. Thus was I cured of all yearning for de-
nominational promotion, led to make an unreserved con-
secration of all my powers to one end, — ^the conversion
of men to Christ; and made willing to labor on, through
evil and good report, leaving my vindication until the day
of judgment.

"A year did not elapse before I saw plainly that God's
plan was much better than mine. I found it far more de-
lightful and profitable to my soul to be directed by God's
providence, where, and by His Spirit, how to labor, than
to be prescribed in my fidd, and dictated to as to how to
conduct my ministry, by others. The Lord carried me
from place to place, even where I had the least expecta-
tion of going. In my perplexities, I was driven to God
in prayer for Him to direct my steps, and mark out every
inch of my path. And I have been led to understand
since, that had not the furnace been heated seven times
hotter than it was wont to be, the dross would never have
been separated from the gold. My kind and heavenly
Father did not give me one blow that was not needful,
nor one thorn that was not required to keep me from
being exalted above measure, through the abundance of
my success in winning souls, and the many flattering ex-
pressions of those who sympathized with my work."

aBb ELDER JACOB KNAPP

After makiiig the full consecration and obtaining the
deeper experience described above, Knapp hegaia to win
multitudes to Christ Thousands upon thousands pro-
fessed conversion in his meetings, and many sought and
obtained the filling of the Holy Spirit So great was his
power in preaching the gospel, it has been said that where-
ever he went ''infidelity turned pale, and Universalism
gave up the ghost." " These were golden days, sunny
spots, heavenly seasons. The memory of them is pre-
cious," says Knapp.

So exhaustive were his labors, many wondered how he
could perform them. But after his hard day's labor in
meetings he often felt as nimble as a deer. " It is really
surprising," says he, " what a small amount of sleep and
food we can get along with, and how much we caii en-
dure, when we are filled with the Spirit. Machinery wdl
oiled can be run day and night for years together with
but little friction."

In many places where Knapp labored, business was
suspended and meetings were held three times a day and
frequently all night. Farmers took their wagons through
their neighborhoods and brought the people to the meet-
ings. The crowds were often so great that Christians
stayed away from the meetings to make room for the un-
saved, and spent the time of service in prayer at their
homes.

At one place where Knapp held meetings, there was
so much praying that a skeptical physician in the place
became so uneasy that he sold his property at a great sac-
rifice and went to Canada. He said that "he could not
go to his bam, but some one was praying in the hay-mow ;
he could not go to the woods, but some one was praying
behind every bush-heap; that the women pestered the life

ELDER JACOB ' KNAPP A

out of him, tormenting him with their religion, so that he
wottld rather live in purgatory."

At Hannibal Center, New York, the church where
Knapp held meetings was very dead, the weather dismal,
and everything seemed unfavorable. But the power of
God finally fell and socres were converted. At Auburn,
New York, when Knapp was holding meetings there, some
of the rowdies tried to create a disturbance one day. ** On
the same night some of them came into the meeting, were
smitten down by the power of God's truth, and had to be
carried to their homes." At Utica, New York, more than
eight hundred persons professed conversion during the re-
vival. About ten thousand professed conversion to Christ
as a result of Knapp's first series of meetings in Balti-
more, Maryland.

In 1841, when Knapp held revival services in Boston,
"the Spirit of God," says he, "was poured out on the
whole dty, and all the people seemed to be affected by
His presence." Rev. J. D. Fulton says : " The attendance
upon theatres waned, that upon churches increased." At
Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1841, " The Lord came down in
power, and the work rolled on mightily." One of the large
cotton mills had to be stopped on account of the operatives
being under too great conviction of sin to continue their
work. About fifteen hundred persons professed conver-
sion to Christ as a result of Knapp's Iatx>rs in that place.
When he left, "the air resounded with the songs of the
rejoicing and weeping multitudes."

The whole city of Salem, Massachusetts, was shaken by
the power of God in 1843, when Knapp held revival serv-
ices there. His friends chartered a train of cars and ac-
companied him to Boston.

In i860, Knapp again held meetings in Boston, and
much prayer was n^ide for an outpouring of the Spirit,

afti ELDER JACOB KNAPP

and ''the very atmosphere seemed impreg;nated with tiie
divine influence. No one could come into the room where
we were without recognizing the presence of God/' says
Knapp. ''At times it seemed as if I was overwhekned
with the gracious fulness of God, and that my poor and
limited faculties could bear no more."

We have given only a few of the most striking inci-
dents connected with the meetings of Elder Knapp. Al-
most everywhere he went the people were so aroused and
concerned about the salvation of their souls that some com-
plained of the excitement in the meetings. But Knapp did
not see why they should not become excited about reli-
gious matters as about matters of far less importance,
such as business, games, politics, and so on. " For my
own part," says he, "I never could see why men might
properly become excited on other subjects, but must in-
variably approach the momentous subject of salvation with
al) the proprieties of an imperturbable deliberation. It seemed
to me that the record of the Acts of the Apostles was a
history of excitements, under which the world was verily
turned upside down."

George Muller

GEORGE MULLER

Amongf the gfreatest monuments of what can be accom-
plished through simple faith in God are the great orphan-^*
ages covering thirteen acres of ground on Ashley Downs,
Bristol, England. When God put it into the heart of
George MuUer to build these orphanages, he had only two
shillings (50 cents) in his pocket. Without making his
wants known to any man, but to God alone, over a million,
four hundred thousand pounds ($7,000,000) were sent to
him for the building and maintaining of these orphan
homes. When the writer first visited them, near the time
of Mr. Muller's death, there were five immense buildings
of solid granite, capable of accommodating two thousand
orphans. In all the years since the first orphans arrived
the Lord had sent food in due time, so that they had never
missed a meal for want of food.

Although George Muller became famous as one of the
greatest men of prayer known to history, he was not al-
ways a saint. He wandered very deep into sin before he
was brought to Christ. He was bom in the kingdom of
Prussia, in 1805. His father was a revenue collector for
the government, and was a worldlynninded man. He sup-
plied George and his brother with plenty of money when
they were boys, and they spent it very foolishly. George
deceived his father about how much money he spent, and
also as to how he spent it. He also stole the government
money during his father's absence.

285

285 GEORGE MULLER

AlE ten years of age, George was sent to the cathedra]
classical school at Halberstadt His father wanted to
make a Lutheran clergyman of him, not that he might
serve God, but that he might have an easy and comfort-
able living from the State Church. " My time," says he,
" was now spent in studying, reading novels, and indulg-
ing, though so young, in sinful practises. Thus it con-
tinued imtil I was fourteen years old, when my mother
was suddenly removed. The night she was dying, I, not
knowing of her illness, was playing cards until two in
the morning, and on the next day, being the Lord's day,
I went with some of my ocmpanions in sin to a tavern,
and then, being filled with strong beer, we went about
the streets half intoxicated.

" I grew worse and worse," says he. " Three or four
days before I was confirmed (and thus admitted to par-
take of the Lord's supper), I was guilty of gross immor-
ality; and the very day before my confirmation, when I
was in the vestry with the clergyman to confess my sins
(according to the usual practice), after a formal manner,
I defrauded him ; for I handed over to him only a twelfdi
part of the fee which my father had given me for him."

A few solemn thoughts and desires to lead a better life
came to him, but he continued to plunge deeper and deq)er
into sin. Lying, stealing, gambling, novel-reading, licen-
tiousness, extravagance, and almost every form of sin was
indulged in by him. No one would have imagined that
the sinful youth would ever beccxne eminent for his faith
in God and for his power in prayer. He robbed his father
of certain rents which his father had entrusted him to col-
lect, falsifying the accounts of what he had received and
pocketing the balance. His money was spent on sinful
pleasures,^ and once he was reduced to such poverty that^
in order to satisfy his hunger, he stole a piece of coant

GEORGE MULLER 287

bread, the allowance of a soldier who was quartered in
the house where he was. In 1821 he set off on an excur-
sion to Magdeburg, where he spent six days in ''much
sin." He then went to Brunswick, and put up at an ex-
pensive hotel until his money was exhausted. He then
put up at a fine hotel in a neighboring village, intending
to defraud the hotel-keeper. But his best clothes were
taken in lieu of what he owed. He then walked six miles
to another inn, where he was arrested for trying to de-
fraud the landlord. He was imprisoned for this crime
when sixteen years of age.

After his imprisonment young MuUer returned to his
home and received a severe thrashing from his angry fa-
ther. He remained as sinful in heart as ever, but in order
to regain his father's confidence he began to lead a very
exemplary life outwardly, until he had the confidence of
all around him. His father decided to send him to the
classical school at Halle, where the discipline was very
strict, but George had no intention of going there. He
went to Nordhausen instead, and by using many lies and
entreaties persuaded his father to allow him to remain
there for two years and six months, till Easter, 1825. Here
he studied diligently, was held up as an example to the
other students, and became proficient in Latin, French,
History, and his own language (German). "But whilst
I was outwardly gaining the esteem of my fellow-crea-
tures," says he, " I did not care in the least about God,
but lived secretly in much sin, in consequence of which I
was taken ill, and for thirteen weeks confined to my room.
All this time I had no real sorrow of heart, yet being un-
der certain natural impressions of religion, I read through
Klopstock's works, without weariness. I cared nothing
about the Word of God."

d88 GEORGE MULLER

*' Now and then I felt I ought to become a different
person/' says he, " and I tried to amend my conduct, par-
ticularly when I went to the Lord's supper, as I used to
do twice every year, with the other young men. The day
previous to attending that ordinance I used to refrain from
certain things, and on the day itself I was serious, and
also swore once or twice to God with the emblem of the
broken body in my moudi, to become better, thinking that
for die oatfi's sake I should be induced to reform. But
after one or two days were over, all was forgotten, and I
was as bad as before.

He entered the University of Halle as a divinity student,
with good testimonials. This qualified him to preach in the
Lutheran state church. While at the university he spent
all his money in profligate living. " When my money was
spent," says he, " I pawned my watch and part of my
linen and clothes, or borrowed in other ways. Yet in the
midst of all this I had a desire to renounce this wretched
life, for I had no enjoyment in it, and had sense enough
left to see, that the end one day or other would be mis-
erable ; for I should never get a living. But I had no sor-
row of heart on account of offending God."

At the university he formed the acquaintance of a mis-
erable backslider, named Beta, who was trying by means
of worldly pleasures to drown out his conviction of sin.
They plunged into sin together, and in June, 1825, George
was again taken sick. After his- recovery they forged let-
ters purporting to be from his parents. With these they
obtained passports and set out to see Switzefland. Muller
stole from the friends who accompanied him and the jour-
ney did not cost him so much as it did them. Tliey re-
turned home to finish up the vacation and then went back
to the University, Muller having lied to his father about
the trip to Switzerland.

GEORGE MULLER 289

At the University of Halle there were about nine hun-
dred divinity students. All of these were allowed to preach,
but Mtdler estimates that not nine of them feared the
Lord. "One Saturday afternoon, about the middle of
November, 1825," says he, " I had taken a walk with my
friend Beta. On our return he said to me, that he was
in the habit of going on Saturday evenings to the house
of a Christian, where there was a meeting. On further
inquiry he told me that they read the Bible, sang, prayed,
and read a printed sermon. No sooner had I heard this,
but it was to me as if I had found something after which
I had been seeking all my life long. I immediately wished
to go with my friend, who was not at once willing to take
me; for knowing me as a gay young man, he thought I
should not like this meeting. At last, however, he said he
would call for me."

Describing the meeting, MuUer said: "We went to-
gether in the evening. As I did not know the manners
of the brethren, and the joy they have in seeing poor sin-
ners, even in any measure caring about the things of God,
I made an apology for coming. The kind answer of this
dear brother I shall never forget. He said: * Come as
often as you please; house and heart are open to you.'"
After a hymn was sung they fell upon their knees, and a
brother, named Kayser, who afterwards became a mission-
ary to Africa, asked God's blessing on the meeting. " This
kneeling down made a deep impression upon me," says
Muller, " for I had never either seen any one on his knees,
nor had I ever myself prayed on my knees. He then read
a chapter and a printed sermon; for no regular meetings
for expounding the Scriptures were allowed in Prussia,
except an ordained clergyman was present. At the close
we sang another hymn, and then the master of the house
prayed." The meeting made a deep impression upon Mul-

19

ago GEORGE MULLER

ler. ** I was happy," says he, " though if I had been asked
why I was happy, I cotild not clearly have explained it.

''When we walked home, I said to Beta, all we have
seen on our journey to Switzerland, and all our former
pleasures, are as nothing in comparison with this evening.
Whether I fell on my knees when I returned home I do
not remember; but this I know, that I lay peaceful and
happy in my bed. This shows that the Lord may htpn
his work in different ways. For I have not the least doubt
that on that evening He began a work of grace in me,
though I obtained joy without any deep sorrow of heart,
and with scarcely any knowledge. But that evening was
the turning point in my life. The next dap^ and Monday,
and once or twice besides, I went again to the house of
this brother, where I read the Scriptures with him and
another brother; for it was too long for me to wait until
Saturday came again.

"Now my life became very different, though not so,
that my sins were all given up at once. My wicked com-
panions were given up; the going to taverns was discon-
tinued; the habitual practice of telling falsehoods was no
longer indulged in, but still a few times more I spoke an
untruth. ... I now no longer lived habitually in sin,
though I was still often overcome and sometimes even by
open sins, though far less frequently than before, and not
without sorrow of heart. I read the Scriptures, prayed
often, loved the brethren, went to church from right mo-
tives, and stood on the side of Christ, though laughed at
by my fellow students."

For a few weeks after his conversion Muller made
rapid advancement in the Christian life, and he was greatly
desirous of becoming a missionary. But he fell in love
with a Roman Catholic girl, and for some time the Lord
was well nigh forgotten. Then Muller saw a young mis-

GEORGE MULLER 91

sionafy givii^ up all the luxuries of a beautiful home for
Christ This opened his eyes to his own selfishness and
enabled him to give up the giri who had taken the place
of Christ in his heart ''It was at this time/' says he,
''that I htgaxi to enjoy the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding. In this my joy I wrote to my father
and brother, entreating them to seek the Lord, and tell-
ing them how happy I was; thinking, that if the way to
happiness were set before them, they would gladly em-
brace it To my great surprise an angry answer was re-
turned/'

George could not enter any German missionary train-
ing institution without the consent of his father, and this
he could not obtain. His father was deeply grieved that
after educating him so that he could obtain a comfortable
living as a clergyman he should turn missionary. George
felt that he could no longer accept any money from him.
The Lord graciously sent him means with which to com-
plete his education. He taught German to some Ameri-
can college professors at the University, and they hand-
somely remunerated him for his services. He was now
the means of winning a number of souls to Christ He
gave away thousands of religious tracts and papers, and
spoke to many persons concerning the salvation of thdr
souls.

Although, before his conversion, Muller had written to
his father and told him about sermons he had preached,
he never really preached a sermon until some time after
his conversion. He thought to please his father by mak-
ing him believe that he was preaching. His first sermon
was a printed one which he had memorized for the occa-
sion* He had but little liberty in preaching it The sec-
ond time he preached extemporaneously and had scnne de-
gree of liberty. "I now preached frequently/' says Iie»

aga GEORGE MULLER

'* both in the churches of the villages and towns, but never
had any enjoyment in doing so, except when speaking in a
simple way; though the repetition of sermons which had
been committed to memory brought more praise from my
fellow creatures. But from neither way of preaching did
I see any fruit. It may be that the last day will show the
benefit even of those feeble endeavors. One reason why
the Lord did not permit me to see fruit, seems to me, that
I should have been most probably lifted up by success.
It may be also because I prayed exceedingly little respect-
ing the ministry of the Word, and because I walked so
little with God, and was so rarely a vessel unto honor,
sanctified and meet for the Master's use."

The true believers at the University increased from
six to about twenty in number before MuUer left. They
often met in Muller's room to pray, sing and read the
Bible. He sometimes walked ten or fifteen miles to hear
a really pious minister preach.

In 1827 Muller volunteered to go as a missionary pas-
tor to the Germans at Bucharest, but the war between the
Turks and Russians prevented this. In 1828, at the Sug-
gestion of their agent, he offered himself to the Lond(Ml
Missionary Society as a missionary to the Jews. He was
well versed in the Hebrew language and had a great love
for it. The Society desired him to come to London that
they might see him personally. Through the providence
of God he finally secured exemption for life from serving
in the Prussian army, and he went to England in 1829, at
twenty-four years of age. He was not able to speak the
English language for some time after he landed in Eng-
land and then only in a very broken maimer at first

Soon after coming to England Muller received a deeper
Christian experience which entirely revolutionized his life.
" I came weak in body to England." says he, " and in con*

GEORGE MULLER 29$

sequence of much study, as I suppose, I was taken ill on
May 15, and was soon, at least in my own estimation, ap-
parently beyond recovery. The weaker I got in body, the
happier I was in spirit. Never in my whole life had I
seen myself so vile, so guilty, so altogether what I ought
not to have been, as at that time. It was as if every sin
of which I had been guilty was brought to my remem-
brance; but at the same time I could realize that all my
sins were completely forgiven — that I was washed and
made clean, completely clean, in the blood of Jesus. The
result of this was great peace. I longed exceedingly to
depart and to be with Christ . . .

''After I had been ill about a fortnight my medical at-
tendant unexpectedly pronounced me better. This, instead
of giving me joy, bowed me down, so great was my de-
sire to be with the Lord ; though almost immediately after-
wards grace was given me to submit myself to the will
of God."

That MuUer always regarded the above experience as
one which deepened his whole spiritual life is clearly
shown by a letter of his which appeared in the British
Christian, of August 14, 1902. In this letter Muller says :
'* I became a believer in the Lord Jesus in the bi^nning
of November, 1825, now sixty-nine years and eight months.
For the first four years afterwards, it was for a good part
in great weakness; but in July, 1829, now sixty-six years
since, it came with me to an entire and full surrender of
heart. I gave myself fully to the Lord. Honors, pleas-
ures, money, my physical powers, my mental powers, all
were laid down at the feet of Jesus, and I became a great
lover of the Word of God. I found my all in God, and
thus in all my trials of a temporal and spiritual charac-
ter, it has remained for sixty-six years. My faith is not
merely exercised r^;ardiing temporal things, but regarding

994 GEORGE MULLER

everything, because I cleave to the Word. My knowledge
of God and His Word is that which helps me.''

Being advised to go into the country for his health, he
prayed about it and finally decided to go. He went to
Devonshire, where the great blessing he had already re-
ceived was greatly augmented by his conversations and
prayers with a Spirit-fiUed minister whom he first heard
preach at Teignmouth. Through the conversations and
sermons of this minister he was led to see as never before
''that the Word of God alone is our standard of judg-
ment in spiritual things; that it can be explained only by
His Holy Spirit; and that in our day, as well as in for-
mer times, He is the teacher of His people. The office
of the Holy Spirit I had not experimentally understood
before that time," says he. " The result of this was, that
the first evening that I shut myself into my room to give
myself to prayer and meditation over the Scriptures, I
learned more in a few hours than I had done during a
period of several months previously.** Again, he says:
*' In addition to these truths, it pleased the Lord to lead
me to see a higher standard of devotedness than I had seen
before."

On his return to London, MuUer sought to lead his
brethren in the training seminary into the deeper truths
he had been brought to realize. " One brother in particu-
lar," says he, *' was brought into the same state in which
I was; and others, I trust, were more or less benefited.
Several times, when I went to my room after family prayer,
I found communion with God so sweet that I continued in
prayer until after twelve, and then being full of joy, went
into the room of the brother just referred to, and finding
him also in a similar frame of heart, we continued pray-
ing tmtil one or two, and even then I was a few times so

GEORGE MVLLER 9M

full of joy that I could scarcely sleep, and at six in the
morning again called the brethren together for prayer,"

Muller's health declined in London and his soul was
also now on fire for God in such a way that he could not
settle down to the routine of daily studies. His newly ac-
quired belief in the near coming of Christ also urged him
forward to work for the salvation of souls. He felt that
the Lord was leading him to begin at once the Christian
work he was longing to do, and as the London Mission-
ary Society did not see proper to send him out without
the prescribed course of training, he decided to go at once
and trust the Lord for the means of support. Soon after
this he became pastor of Ebenezer Chapel, Teignmouth,
Devonshire. His marriage to Miss Mary Groves, a Devon-
shire lady, followed. She was always of the same mind
as her husband and their married life was a very happy
one. Not long after his marriage he began to have con-
scientious scruples about receiving a regular salary, and
also about die renting of pews in his church. He felt
that the latter was giving the '' man with the ring on his
finger" the best seat, and the poorer brother the foot-
stool, and the former was taking money from those who
did not pve " cheerfully " or " as the Lord had prospered
them." These two customs were discontinued by him. He
and his wife told their needs to no one but the Lord. Oc-
casionally reports were spread that they were starving;
but though at times their faith was tried, their income was
greater than before. He and his wife gave away freely
all that they had above their present needs, and trusted
the Lord for their " daily bread."

Muller preached in many surrounding towns, and many
souls were brought to Christ in his meetings. In 1832 he
felt profoundly impressed that his work was ended in
Teignmouth, and when he went to Bristol the same year

ag6 GEORGE MULLER

he was as profoundly impressed that the Lord would have
him work there. When the Spirit, the Word, and the
providence of God agree, we may be quite certain that the
Lord is leading us, for these three are always in harmony
and cannot disagree. Not only did MuUer feel led of the
Lord to work in Bristol, but the providence of God opened
the way, and it seemed in harmony with the Word of God.
MuUer began his labors in Bristol in 1832, as co-pastor
with his friend Mr. Craik, who had been called to that
city. Without salaries or rented pews their labors were
greatly blessed at Gideon and Bethesda Chapels. The
membership more than quadrupled in numbers in a short
time. Ten days after die opening of Bethesda there was
such a crowd of persons inquiring the way of salvation
that it took four hours to minister to them. Subsequently
Gideon Chapel was relinquished, and in the course of time
two neighboring chapels were secured. These churches,
though calling themselves non-sectarian, were usually
classed with the people commonly known as " Plymouth
Brethren.'' Muller continued to preach to them as long
as he lived, even after he began his great work for the
orphans. At the time of his death he had a congregation
of about two thousand persons at Bethesda Chapel.

In 1834 Mr. Muller started the Scripture Knowledge
Institution for Home and Abroad. Its object was to aid
Christian day-schools, to assist missionaries, and to cir-
culate the Scriptures. This institution, without worldly
patronage, without asking anyone for help, without con-
tracting debts; without committees, subscribers, or mem-
berships; but through faith in the Lord alone, had ob-
tained and disbursed no less a sum than £1,500,000 ($7,-
500,000) at the time of Mr. Muller's death. The bulk of
this was expended for the orphanage. At the time of Mr.
Muller's death 122,000 persons had been taught in the

GEORGE MULLER 29/

schools supported by these funds ; and about 282,000 Bibles
and 1,500,000 Testaments had been distributed by means
of the same fund. Also 112,000,000 religious books, pam-
phlets and tracts had been circulated; missionaries had
been aided in all parts of the world : and no less than ten
thousand orphans had been cared for by means of this

same fund.

At the age of seventy, Mr. Muller began to make great
evangelistic tours. He traveled 200,000 miles, going around
the world and preaching in many lands and in several dif-
ferent languages. He frequently spoke to as many as 4,500
or 5,000 persons. Three times he preached throughout
the length and breadth of the United States. He contin-
ued his missionary or evangelistic tours until he was ninety
years of age. He estimated that during these seventeen
years of evangelistic work he addressed three million peo-
ple. All his expenses were sent in answer to the prayer
of faith.

Greatest of all MuUer's undertakings was the erec-
tion and maintenance of the g^eat orphanages at Bristol.
He began the undertaking with only two shillings (50
cents) in his pocket; but in answer to prayer and without
making his needs known to human beings, he received the
means necessary to erect the great buildings and to feed
the orphans day by day for sixty years. In all that time
the children did not have to go without a meal, and Mr.
Muller said that if they ever had to go without a meal he
would take it as evidence that the Lord did not will the
work to continue. Sometimes the meal time was almost
at hand and they did not know where the food would come
from, but the Lord always sent it in due time, during the
twenty thousand or more days that Mr. Muller had charge
of the homes.

2fi GEORGE MULLER

When Muller b^^an to trust ^e Lord for money he
found it as difficult to trust the Lord for a shilling (25
cents) as it was afterwards to trust Him for a thousand
pounds ($5,000). The more his faith was exercised, the
stronger it became. Funds for one immense building after
another were sent in answer to prayer, until Muller had
received more than a hundred thousand pounds ($500,000)
for this purpose alone. Six hundred pounds ($3,000) a
week was required for the support of the orphans at the
time of Mr. Muller's death, and yet the Lord sent them
day by day their daily bread.

When a youth, Muller had seen tiie g^eat orphanage
at Halle, in Prussia, supported by Professor Francke in
answer to the simple prayer of faith, and after going to
Bristol he felt that the Lord was laying it upon his heart
to b^n a similar work in that city, as a monument and
testimony to the world to show that the Lord still hears
and answers prayer. When he had accomplished this g^eat
work, the Lord gently removed him. He dropped dead in
his room on the night of March 10, 1898. One of his
leading helpers informed the writer that every feature of
his countenance showed that he had died in peace.

A. B. EARLE

It was ctaimed that the famous Spirit^filled evangelist,
A.. B. Earle, author of "Bringing in the Sheaves," and
•* The Rest of Faith," preached more frequently than any
other man living at the same time. In fifty years he tra-
veled 325,000 miles in the United States and Canada,
preached 19,780 times, and 150,000 persons professed con-
version in his meetings. He often preached three or four
times in one day. He usually held union meetings, and
frequently ten, twenty, or even thirty churches united in
his protracted meetings. In one city fifteen hundred per-
sons professed conversion to Christ as a result of his la-
bors, and during an evangelistic tour of nine months' dura «-
tion over five thousand people were gathered into the
dhurches where he held meetings. He deserves to be
ranked with the greatest evangelists and soul winners of
all time.

A writer in a leading British religious paper said con-
cerning Mr. Earle: "His preaching was not eloquent.
His delivery was not beyond the average. His voice had
no special power. His large angular frame and passion-
less mouth were decidedly against him. His sermons
seemed sometimes as though composed thirty years ago,
before we so often heard, as now, the more clear and ring-
ing utterances of free g^'ace, and the name of Jesus in al-
most every sentence. He exprssed his own emotions very
simply, and did not often refer to them. His rhetoric was

301

^08 A. B. EARLB

often at fault, and s(»netimes even his grammar. Truly
the enticing words of man's wisdom were wanting in his
case.

'* The first time I heard him I came away in wonder
as to wherein his unusual gospel power lay; but as I lis-
tened to him again and again, I could not help realizing
how the congregation, and my own soul with lliem, were
held by the power of God. When he preached on the
value of a human soul, I do not remember a single thought
or illustration that was new to me; and yet I came away
overwhelmed in this realization of the infinite predousness
of each child of Adam, and found myself as I awdke the
next morning, weeping in sorrow and anxiety for lost sin-
ners. That day there were, I trust, two souls given ,me
in private conversations.

** Yet there was nothing like the electric power which
enabled Massillion, in the last century, to cause a multi-
tude to start at once from their seats, in an agony of mor-
tal terror, nor even the sobbing and outcry, as under Jona-
than Edward's celebrated sermon on ' Eternity.' All was
still. But about forty souls were baptized two or three
days afterward.

"Coming to the meeting perfectly free to follow the
guidance of the Spirit, the preacher seemed as simple and
as easily guided in any direction as the smallest child in
the house. The congregation, which seemed to be so won-
derfully swayed by him, were reially controlled by the same
Holy Spirit which controlled him. He simply watched for
and recognized the guidance of God, and walked in it. . . .

"There was no rule in his movements. He sometimes
asked the awakened to come forward, sometimes to rise
in their seats; sometimes no expression was called for.
All was simple and natural ; and the very simplicity itself,

A. B. EARLB 303

and tile unexpectedness of the direction of the meetings,
surprised the unconverted out of their defences/'

Earle was a Baptist, but he was strongly in favor of
union meetings in evangelistic work. He believed that one
of the most potent factors in bringing souls to Christ was
the sight of Christians of different denominations working
together in perfect harmony. His union meetings were so
many and so large that he had the privilege of laboring
with no less than eight thousand ministers, in almost every
state in the United States, in three of the provinces of
Canada, and in iht British Isles. " I have never charged
any special sum for my services as an evangelist,'' says he^
" preferring to leave it to the people to give me, as a free-
will offering, just what they chose at the close of eadi
series of meetings." His famous book, ''Bringing in the
Sheaves," has had an immense sale, and the proceeds were
considerable.

Earle was a strong believer in the preaching of future
punishment. " I have found by long experience," says he,
'' that the severest threatenings of the law of God have a
prominent place in leading men to Christ. They must see
themselves LXDST before they will cry for mercy. They
will not escape from danger until they see it. I have rea-
son to believe that a single sermon I have often preached
on 'The Sin that Hath Never Forgiveness' (Mark 3:29),
has been the means of more than twenty thousand conver-
sions." He also says, concerning this sermon : " I have
known scores to give themselves to Christ under a single
sermon on this subject, again and again." "The wicked
never flee from 'the wrath to come' until they are fully
satisfied there is wrath," says he.

Earle began preaching in 1830, when eighteen years of
age, but his greatest success was after his own Christian
experience was deepened, about the year i860. In his

J04 A. B. EARLE

little book entitled '' The Rest pi Faith/' written in i87i»
he tells us how his own soul was led into the ''rest of
faith " and enjoyment of the deeper things of God. ''About
ten years ago/' says he, " I htgaji to feel an inexpressible
hungering and longing for the fulness of Christ's love. I
had often had seasons of great joy and peace in Christ,
and in His service. I had seen many precious souls brou|^
into the fold of Christ. I fully believe I then belonged to
Christ, that my name was in His family record.

" I loved the work of the ministry, but had long felt
an inward unrest, a void in my soul that was not filled.
Seasons of great joy would be followed by seasons of
darkness and doubt. If I had peace, I feared it would
not continue ; and it did not.

" Many anxious Christians came to me, complaining of
the same thing. How could I help them on that point,
when I did not know how to get right myself? I took
them to the seventh chapter of Romans, and there left
them, saying, ' O wretched man that I am ! who shall de-
liver me from the body of this death?' I was there my-
self, and supposed I must live and die there.

" In this state I was exposed to severe temptations and
attacks of the enemy. I made strong and repeated resolu-
tions that I would be faithful, but could not keep them.
Then I sought and found forgiveness again, and was happy,
and said, ' Oh, that I could always enjoy such peace I' But
it was soon disturbed by some word, or act, or heart-wan-
dering.

"Thus I lived on for many years: now happy in my
Christian experience, and now unhappy; sometimes doubt-
ing and fearing, and sometimes resting. God gave me suc-
cess in winning souls, and granted me many hours of sweet

with my Saviour, for which I am truly grate-

k» MItllllM 1)1

A. B. EARLB 305

ful ; still I was unsatisfied^ — I wanted an uninterrupted rest
and peace.

" I often read those precious words uttered by our Sav-
iour, ' If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you/ I
longed and prayed to be there, but knew not the way. Oh
that some one had then taught me the way of rest in Jesus !

"I frequently met CJhristians who claimed sinless per-
fection : many of them were, indeed, a better type of
Christians than ordinary professors ; but they did not seem
perfect to me. The rest in Jesus, for which I longed, was
still unfound.

''At last I felt that the question for me to settle was
this, — Can an imperfect Christian sweetly and constantly
rest in a perfect Saviour, without condemnation?

" This I revolved in my mind for a long time. I read,
as far as I could, the experiences 6f those who seemed to
live nearest to Christ. I searched the Scriptures for light,
and asked such as I believed had power with God to pray
with and for me, that I might be led aright on this great
question. At length I became satisfied that Christ had
made provision for me and all His children to abide in the
fulness of His love without one moment's interruption.

" Having settled this, I said : * I need this ; I long for
it; I cannot truly represent religion without it, and Christ
is dishonored by me every day I live without it.

"I therefore deliberately resolved, by the help of my
Redeemer, to obtain it at any sacrifice; little realizing how
unlike Christ I then was, or how much would be needed,
to bring me there.

" I first procured a blank book, which 1 called my * Con-
secration Book,' and slowly and solemnly, on my knees,

wrote in it the following dedication:
20

3o6 A. B. EARLE

" *Andover, February lo, 1859.

'''This day I make a new consecration of my all to
Christ.

" ' Jesus, I now forever give myself to Thee ; my soul
to be washed in Thy blood and saved in heaven at last;
my whole body to be used for Thy glory; my mouth to
speak for Thee at all times ; my eyes to weep over lost sin-
ners, or to be used for any purpose to Thy glory ; my feet
to carry me where Thou shalt wish me to go; my heart
to be burdened for souls, or used for Thee anywhere ; my
intellect to be employed at all times for Thy cause and
glory. I give to Thee my wife, my children, my property,
all I have, and all that ever shall be mine. I will obey
Thee in every known duty. *A. B. E.'

" I then asked for grace to enable me to carry out that
vow, and that I might take nothing from the altar. I
supposed, with this consecration, entire as far as knowl-
edge went, I should soon receive all diat my longjing heart
could contain ; but in this I was sadly mistaken.

"'I then came nearer to Christ. But as clearer light
began to shine into my heart, I saw more of its vileness.

'' I find in my journal the following :

" ' Boston, December 22, 1859.

'''The last three weeks have been weeks of great
searching of heart. I never had my heart so seardied be-
fore. I detect pride, envy, self-will, a g^eat deal of un-
belief, my love to the Saviour to be very weak. Yet I
have consecrated all to Christ, and cannot withdraw it
from the altar. Oh, can a worm so vile be like Christ?
I know it is possible; and if I am ever to be like Him,
why not now, while I am where I can do good in leading
others to Him.

" ' I felt like a patient who, though in the hands of a
skilful physician, groans and writhes under the severe

A. B. EARLB 307

treatment which has been found necessary in order to save
his life. But my constant prayer was, " Be thorough with
me, Jesus, — be thorough." Many a discouraging day fol-
lowed this consecration and these heart-searchings. I g^ew
weak and small and unworthy in my own estimation.

"*At times my joy and peace were almost unbounded.
Sometimes I felt that I grasped the prize so earnestly
sought, but was shown hidden sin in my heart which great-
ly humbled and distressed me. How fully I realized the
words of J. B. Taylor, who said, while seeking this bless-
ing, '' Notwithstanding my profession that I had crucified
the world, the flesh, and the devil, I have had keener sor^-
rows for indwelling sin than I even experienced before
conversion.

"'"Oh, the distress which I have felt on account of
pride, envy, love of the world, and other evil passions
which have risen up and disturbed my peace, and sepa-
rated between God and my soul!" How many have real-
ized all this, and even more, in their struggles after abid-
ing rest in Jesus !

''"One sin that troubled me most, and was the hard-
est to overcome, was a strong will, — sl desire, and almost
a determination to have my own way ; — and thus— even in
regard to little things, or any little injury or supposed
wrong — to speak without reflection, and sometimes severe-
ly, even to those I knew were my friends ; to say, " I will
do this," and " I will do that."

" ' This I clearly saw must be overcome, if I would be-
come a consistent and useful Christian. As I could not
do it myself, I gave it over to Jesus: He could give me
grace to overcome even this But I found I gave nothing
into the hands of Jesus, except by a sinful fai&. My
faith was very deficient and weak: to believe the prom-
ises fully was not easy. I believed the theory of religion ;

3o8 A. B. EARLE

but to have my heart grasp the reality, without wavering,
was more difficult. Yet I found my faith growing stronger,
tmtil at last I came to believe just what God had said in
His Word. I found first the blade of faith, then the ear,
and then the full com in the ear. No rest could be ob-
tained until I could believe just what Grod had said, and
trust Him fully.

'' 'I felt that I must have in my heart something that
I did not then possess. Before I could be filled with the
fulness of Christ's love I must be emptied of self. Oh,
the longing of my heart for what I then believed, and
now believe, to be sweet and constant rest in Jesus I I
believed I should receive, and thought it was near.

'' ' I soon found it easier to resist temptation. I b^gan
to trust Christ and His promise more fully.

" * With this mingling of faith, desire, and expectation,
I commenced a meeting on Cape Cod. After re-dedicat«
ing myself, in company with others, anew to God, I was
in my room alone, pleading for the fulness of Christ's love,
when all at once a sweet, heavenly peace filled all the
vacuum in my soul, leaving no longing, no unrest, no dis-
satisfied feeling in my bosom. I felt, I knew, that I was
accepted fully in Jesus. A calm, simple, childlike trust
took possession of my whole being. . . .

"'Then, for the first time in my life, I had the rest
which is more than peace. I had felt peace before, but
feared I should not retain it; now I had peace without
fear, which really became rest. . . .

" * This change occurred about five o'clock, on the eve-
ning of the second day of November, 1863 ; and although
I never felt so weak and small, yet Jesus has been my all
since then. There has not been one hour of conscious
doubt or darkness since that time. A heaven of peace

A. B. EARLE 3og

and rest fills my soul. Day and night the Saviour seems
by me.

'* * My success in leading souls to Jesus has been much
greater than before. . . .

"'Temptation is presented, but the power of it is
broken. I seem to have a present Saviour in every time
of need; so that for several years I have done the trust-
ing and Jesus the keeping. . . .' "

As we learn from his most famous book, '' Bringing in
the Sheaves," Earle experienced wonderful spiritual power
in his meetings after receiving the above experience. The
sensible presence of the Spirit was sometimes so strong
that the whole audience would be melted to tears, or feel-
ings found vent in sobs or audible expressions of praise.
The impenitent were awed and subdued by the presence
and power of God, and they often flocked to God in mul-
titudes. At one time Earle was so worn out and weary
from praying with so many seekers, he had to leave them
to pray their own way to Christ. People could often be
heard praying at midnight in streets and houses and fields
and bams as a result of his meetings.

Earle depended entirely on the Holy Spirit's power to
win souls to Christ. He says : " I have observed for
nearly forty years past, that the secret of success in pro-
moting revivals of religion is in having our own hearts
filled with the Holy Spirit." Again, he says: Nothing
can be a substitute for real power from on high. No
amount of study, or talent, or effort, however untiring,
can take the place of the fulness of Christ's love ; ' Not
by might, nor by (human) power, but by my Spirit, saith
the Lord.' "

When Earle preached on " The Unpardonable Sin," in
San Francisco, the power of God was so manifest that about
five hundred persons rose for prayer. At a meeting in Bur-

S» 'A.B. RARLB

lingtoiiy Vermont, when he preached on *^ The Joy of Sahra-
tion," about fifty ministers knelt at the altar to make an un-
conditional surrender of their all to God.

In his great sermon on ''Joy/' Earle shows the power
of the life whidi is *' filled with joy and the Holy Ghost''
He tells of one woman who had been a Christian for years,
and her husband had g^own more skeptical all the time. B}it
a few days after she was filled with joy and the Holy Ghost,
he came to the meetings all broken up under a sense of his
sins. He said that his wife had been a professing Chris-
tian for many years, but he had no desire for her kind of
religion. But during the last few days she had been such an
angel in the home that he could hold out no longer.

Earle believed that the ''joy of the Lord" is the great
secret in soul-winning. He believed that nothing would
draw sinners to Christ so quickly as to see the joy of salva-
tion in believers. This is the great point brought out in
his book " Bringing in the Sheaves " With the Psalmist he
prayed, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and
uplK>ld me with thy free Spirit; Then will I teach trans-
gressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto
thee" (Psahn5i:i3).

Frances Ridley Havergal

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

Few lives have left behind them a sweeter fragrance or
holier influence than that of beautiful, talented, consecrated,
Frances Ridley Havergal, who wrote " Take my life and let
it be," and others of our most popular hymns. In tens
of thousands of homes all over the world Miss Havergal's
name is a household word. Countless multitudes have re-
ceived blessing through her hymns and devotional works.
Her little booklets, "My King," "Royal Commandments
and Royal Bounty," "Daily Thoughts on Coming to
Christ," "Kept for the Master's Use," and so on, have
been the means of deepening the spiritual life of many of
God's children. To Miss Havergal Christ was indeed "a
living bright Reality ; " " more dear, more intimately nigh,
than e'en the sweetest earthly tie." One of her latest whis-
pers was, " I did so want to glorify Him in every step of
my way." Many Christians sincerely desire to know the
secret of such a life as hers, and to attain its lofty heights
of joy and peace.

Frances Ridley Havergal was the youngest child of
Christian parents. She was bom in 1836, at Astley, in
Worcestershire, England, where her father was rector at
the time. She was a very beautiful child, fond of romping
and climbing trees. She was so full of life and vivacity
that her father called her his "Littie Quicksilver." She
was very precocious, and could read simple books easily

at three years of age. At four years of age she could write

313

3t4 FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

welly and could read the Bible correctly. Her father was
a composer and musician of no little merit, and at nine
years of age Frances wrote long letters to her friends in
perfect rhyme.

As a little girl Frances sang hymns sweetly, and she
often sat upon her father's knee while he read the Script-
ures ; but she did not remember having any serious impres-
sions about religion tmtil she was six years old. At that
age she was deeply convicted of sin by hearing a sermon
which dwelt much on the terrors of hell and of the judg-
ment day. She told no one, but the sermon was on her
mind day and night, and she sought relief in prayer. She
remained in great distress about her soul for two years
without telling anyone about it. She then ventured to tell
a certain curate of the Church of England, in which church
she was raised and of which she continued a member ; but
he attributed her feelings to a recent change of residence
that her parents had made in moving from one rectory to
another. He thought that she was simply homesick for the
old home and friends, and advised her to be a good child
and to pray. After this she did not open her heart to any-
one for about five years, although she was under deep con-
cern about her soul most of the time. Her mother died
when she was twelve years of age, and this was a great
blow to her. When between thirteen and fourteen years
of age she went to the school of a Mrs. Teed, who was a
godly woman, so filled with the Spirit that a great revival
broke out in her school in which most of her pupils were
converted to Christ. Many of the girls were so happy that
'' their countenances shone with a heavenly radiance.'' This
deepened Frances' conviction of sin, and she prayed more
earnestly than ever for pardon. After much anxious
seeking, she ventured to tell a Miss Cooke — ^who after-
wards became her step-mother — how willing she was 10

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL 315

give tq> eveiything if she could only find Christ as her
Saviour. Miss Cooke said, " Why cannot you trust your-
self to your Saviour at once ? " Miss Havergal says, '^ Then
came a flash of hope across me, which made me feel liter-
ally breathless. I remember how my heart beat. ' I coidd
surely,' was my response; and I left her suddenly and ran
away upstairs to think it out. I flung myself on my knees
in my room, and strove to realize the sudden hope. I was
very happy at last I could commit my soul to Jesus. I
could trust Him with my all for eternity.'' She then re-
ceived a definite assurance of salvation. ''Then and
there," says she, " I committed my soul to my Saviour,
I do not mean to say without any trembling or fear, but I
did — and earth and heaven seemed bright from that mo-
ment — / did trust the Lord Jesus/'

From the time of her conversion Frances lived a very
earnest Christian life. She was in schools and colleges in
England and Germany, and afterwards visited different
parts of England, Switzerland, Wales, Ireland, and Scot-
land, but everywhere she went she took a bold stand for
Christ. She received a splendid education both in England
and in Germany, and grew into a very beautiful and ac-
complished young lady. She won many of the highest
honors, and became proficient in several languages, includ-
ing Latin, Greek, French, German, and Hebrew. She was
a talented musician, a gifted singer, and wrote many
poems of considerable merit. She was the only truly con-
verted person among the hundred and ten young ladies in
her school in Germany, but she took a firm stand for
Christ, and suffered much persecution on that account but
won the hearts of some of her schoolmates. Returning to
England in 1854, she was confirmed in Worcester Cathe-
dral. When the bishop laid hands on her and prayed, '* De-
fendt O Lord, this Thy child with Thy heavenly grace, that

3i6 FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

she may continue Thine forever, and daily increase in Thy
Holy Spirit more and more, until she come into Thy ever-
lasting kingdom," her heart entered into the prayer. " If
ever my heart followed a prayer it did then," says she,
** if ever it thrilled with earnest longing not unmixed with
joy, it did at the words * Thine for ever.' " She always ob-
served the anniversary of her confirmation by spending
the day in prayer and holy retirement.

Although Miss Havergal lived a very earnest Christian
life, and sought to glorify God and serve Him by teaching
in Sunday School, singing in churches and elsewhere, visit-
ing the needy, and so on, she felt that she was only a little
child in the spiritual life, and she longed for a deeper
Christian experience. Her writings began to attract much
attention, and her sweet Christian spirit was noticed on
every hand. She was a great student of the Word of God,
and at the age of twenty-two knew the whole of the Gos-
pels, Epistles, Revelation, Psalms, and Isaiah by heart, and
the Minor Prophets she learned in later years. She asked
the Lord to direct her writing, and to give her every word,
and even the rhymes of her poetry. Still she longed for
a deeper, richer, fuller Christian experience. Many were
her longings to be filled with the Spirit, and to have a
closer walk with God. In "Gleams and Glimpses," writ-
ten in 1858, she says, " — ^gleams and glimpses, but oh to
be filled with joy and the Holy Ghost! Oh, why cannot I .
trust Him fully." Later she wrote, "I still wait for the
hour when I believe He will reveal Himself to me more
directly; but it is the quiet waiting of present trust, not
the restless waiting of anxiety and danger." It was in
1852, at the age of 22, that she wrote the well known
hymn " I gave My life for thee," which reveals the deep
longings of her heart to be more fully consecrated to
Christ

PRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL Z17

Miss Havergal often met with dark places in seeking
for a deeper experience. In 1865, she wrote, " I had hoped
that a kind of table-land had been reached in my journey,
where I might walk a while in the light, without the weary
succession of rock and hollow, crag and morass, stumbling
and striving; but I seem borne back into all the old diffi-
culties of the way, with many sin-made aggravations. I
think that the great root of all my trouble and alienation
is that I do not now make an unconditional surrender of
myself to God ; and until this is done I shall know no peace,
I am sure of it." Later she says, " Oh, that He would in-
deed purify me and make me white at any cost." She
prayed regularly three times a day, and every morning she
prayed especially for the Holy Spirit. After a season of
sickness, she wrote, " Oh, that He may make me a vessel
sanctified and meet for the Master's use! I look at trial
and training of every kind in this light, not its effect upon
oneself for oneself, but in its gradual Htting of me to do
the Master's work. So, in every painful spiritual darkness
or confliot, it has already comforted me to think that Grod
might be leading me through strange dark ways, so that I
might afterward be His messenger to some of His chil-
dren in distress." She often wondered why others ob-
tained so easily the blessing she had agonized and prayed
for so long. Perhaps the Lord was letting her learn what
trial was, so that her sweet songs might better comfort
others in distress. She says, " I suppose that God's crosses
are often made of most unexpected and strange material.
Perhaps trial must be felt keenly, or it would not be power-
ful enough as a medicine in the hands of our beloved
Healer ; and I think it has been a medicine to me latterly."
Again, she says, " I have learned a real sympathy with
others walking in darkness, and sometimes it has seemed
to help me to help them." Concerning her trials she also

3i8 PRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

wrote, "Did you ever hear of anyone being very much
used for Christ who did not have some special waiting
time, some complete upset of all his or her plans first; from
St. Paul being sent off into the desert of Arabia for three
years, when he must have been boiling over with the glad
tidings, down to the present day?"

Miss Havergal traveled much throughout the British
Isles, and made numerous trips to Switzerland; but wher-
ever she was her soul still longed for a deeper experience.
She spent much time in studying and marking her Bible,
by the " rail-roading " method, and this increased her long-
' ings to lay hold of the " exceeding great and precious prom-
ises ** by which we are made '' partakers of the divine na-
ture" (2 Peter 1:4). At this time she wrote, "I have
been appropriating all of the promises with a calm sort of
twilight happiness, waiting for a clearer light to show me
their full beauty and value."

At last the long looked for experience came, and it
lifted her whole life into sunshine and gladness. The fol-
lowing account of how she was brought into a Beulah Land
experience is from the pen of her sister Maria, who also
enjoyed the same experience.

''We now reach a period in the life of dear Frances
that was characterized by surpassing blessing to her soul.
The year 1873 was drawing to a close, and she was again
visiting Winterdyne.

"One day she received in a letter from N a tiny

book with the title 'AH for Jesus.' She read it carefully.
Its contents arrested her attention. It set forth a fulness
of Christian experience and blessing exceeding that to
which she had as yet attained. She was gratefully con-
scious of having for many years loved the Lord and de-
lighted in His service; but there was in her experience a
falling short of the standard, not so much of a holy walk

PRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL gi^

and conversation, as of uniform brightness and continuous
enjoyment in the Divine life. ' All for Jesus ' she found
went straight to this point of the need and longing of her
soul. Writing in reply to the author of the little book, she
said, ^ I do so long for deeper and fuller teaching in my
own heart/ * "All for Jesus '* has touched me very much.
. . . I know I love Jesus, and tiiere are times when I
feel such intensity of love for Him that I have not words
to describe it. I rejoice too in Him as my " Master" and
** Sovereign," but I want to come nearer still, to have the
full realization of John xiv. 21, and to know " the power
of his ressurrection," even if it be with the fellowship of
His sufferings. And all this, not exacdy for my own joy
alone, but for others. ... So I want Jesus to speak
to me, to say " many things " to me, that I may speak for
Him to otiiers with real power. It is not knowing doctrine,
but being with Him, which will give this."

" God did not leave her long in this state of mind. He
Himself had shown her that there were * regions beyond '
of blessed experience and service ; had kindled in her soul
the intense desire to go forward and possess them; and
now, in His own grace and love, He took her by the hand,
and led her into the goodly land. A few words from her
correspondent on the power of Jesas to keep those who
abide in Him from falling, and on the continually present
power of His blood (' the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth from all sin/) were used by the Master in ef-
fecting this. Very joyously she replied : ' / see it all, and
I have the blessing.'

"The ^sunless ravines' were npw forever passed, and
henceforth her peace and joy flowed onward, deepening and
widening under the teaching of God and the Holy Ghost.
The blessing she had received had (to use her own words)
'lifted her whole life into sunshine, of which all she had

320 FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

previously experienced was but as pale and passing April
gleams compared with the fulness of stunmer glory.'

" The practical effect of this was most evident in her
daily true-hearted, whole-hearted, service for her King, and
also in the increased joyousness of the unswerving obedi-
ence of her home life, the surest test of all.

"To the reality of this I do most willingly and fully
testify. Some time afterwards, in answer to my question,
when we were talking quietly together, Frances said, * Yes,
it was on Advent Sunday, December 2, 1873, I first saw
clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I saw it as
a flash of electric light, and what you see, you can never
unsee. There must be full surrender before there can be
full blessedness. God admits you by the one into the
ether. He Himself showed me all this most clearly. You
know how singularly I have been withheld from attending
all conventions and conferences; man's teachings has, con-
sequently, had but little to do with it. First, I was shown
that " the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from
all sin," and then it was made plain to me that He Who
had thus cleansed me had power to keep me clean; so I
just utterly yielded myself to Him, and utterly trusted
Him to keep me.' "

In a letter to her sister Maria, written some months
after the experience just described, Frances says with re-
gard to it : " First, however, I would distinctly state, that
it is only as and while a soul is under the full power of
the blood of Christ that it can be cleansed from all sin;
that one moment's withdrawal from that power, and it

is again actively because really sinning; and that it is otdy
as, and while, kept by the power of God Himself that we

are not sinning against Him ; one instant of standing alone

is certain fall! But, (premising that,) have we not been

limiting the cleansing power of the precious blood when

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL 321

^plied by the Holy Spirit, and also the keeping power
of God ? Have we not been limiting i John i : 7, by prac-
tically making it refer only to * remission of sins that are
past/ instead of taking the grand simplicity of 'cleanseth
us from all sin ? ' * All ' is all; and as we may trust Him
to cleanse us from the stain of past sins, so we may trust
Him to cleanse us from all present defilement; yes, all! If
not, we take away from this most precious promise, and,
by refusing to take it in its fulness lose the fulness of its
application and power. Then we limit God's power to
keep;' we look at our frailty more than His omnipotence.
Where is the line to be drawn, beyond which He is not
*able?' The very keeping implies total helplessness with-
out it, and the very cleansing most distinctly defilement with-
out it. It was that one word 'cleanseth' which opened the
door of a very glory of hope and joy to me. I had never
seen the force of the tense before, a continual present, al-
ways a present tense, not a present which the next moment
becomes a past. It goes on cleansing, and I have no words
to tell how my heart rejoices in it. Not a coming to be
cleansed in the fountain only, but a remaining in the
fountain, so that it may and can go on cleansing.

"Why should we pare down the promises of God to
the level of what we have hitherto experienced of what
God is ' able to do,' or even of what we have thought He
might be able to do for us ? Why not receive God's prom-
ises, nothing doubting, just as they stand? 'Take the
shield of faith, whereby ye shall be able to quench all the
fiery darts of the wicked ; ' 'He is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency
in all things;' and so on, through whole constellations of
promises, which surely mean really and fully what they say.

"One arrives at the same thing starting almost from
anywhere. Take Philippians iv : 19, ' your need ; * well,

2\

i

322 FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

what is my great need and craving of soul? Surdy it is
now, (having been justified by faith, and having assur-
ance of salvation,) to be made holy by the continual sancti-
iymg power of God's Spirit ; to be kept from grieving the
Lord Jesus ; to be kept from thinking or doing whatever is
not accordant with His holy will. Oh what a need is this !
And it is said ' He shall supply all your need ;' now, shall
we turn round and say ' all ' does not mean quite all ? Both
as to the commands and promises, it seems to me that
everything short of believing them as they stand is but an-
other form of * yea, hath Gk)d said ? '

''Thus accepting, in simple and unquestioning faith,
God's commands and promises, one seems to be at once
brought into intensified views of everything. Never, oh
never before, did sin seem so hateful, so really * intoler-
able,' nor watchfulness so necessary, and a keenness and
untnterruptedness of watchfulness too, beyond what one
ever thought of, only somehow different, not a distressed
sort but a happy sort. It is the watchfulness of a sentinel
when his captain is standing by him on the ramparts, when
his eye is more than ever on the alert for any sign of the
approaching enemy, because he knows they can only ap-
proach to be defeated. Then, too, the 'all for Jesus'
comes in; one sees there is no half way, it must be abso-
lutely all yielded up, because the least unyielded or doubt-
ful point is sin, let alone the great fact of owing all to Him.
And one cannot, dare not, temporize with sin. I know, and
have found, that even a momentary hesitation about yield-
ing, or obeying, or trusting and believing, vitiates all, the
communion is broken, the joy is vanished ; only, thank God,
this need never continue even five minutes, faith may plunge
instantly into ' the fountain, open for sin and undeanness/
and again find its power to cleanse and restore. Then one
wants to have more and more light; one does not shrink

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL ^^

from painful discoveries of evil, because one so wants to
have the unknown depths of it cleansed as well as what
comes to the surface. ' Qease me throughly from my sin ;*
and one prays to be shown this. But so far as one does
see, one must 'put away sin' and obey entirely; and here
again His power is our resource, enabling us to do what
without it we could not do.

** One of the intensest moments of my life was when I
saw the force of that word ' cleanseth' The utterly unex-
pected and altogether unimagined sense of its fulfillment
to me, on simply believing it in its fulness, was just inde-
scribable. I expected nothing like it short of heaven." Re-
ferring to the same experience, in a letter to a friend, she
said, '' The year 1873 has been a time of unprecedented
blessing to me."

Miss HavergaFs whole life was now lifted to a higher
plane, and the few remaining years were the richest of
her life, richest in Christian experience and richest in ser-
vice for her King. Wherever she went her life was full of
service, and her words were winged with a new spiritual
power. It was at this time too that she wrote her great
consecration hymn, "Take my life and let it be," She
says, " Perhaps you will be interested to know the origin
of the consecration h)rmn, *Take my life.' I went for a
little visit of five days. There were ten persons in the
house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some con-
verted but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer,
* Lord, give me aU in this house ! ' And He just did ! Be-
fore I left the house everyone had got a blessing. The last
night of my visit I was too happy to sleep, and passed most
of the night in praise and renewal of my consecration, and
these little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my
heart one after another, till they finished with, ' Ever, Only,
ALL for Theel'" She now refused to sing anything ex«

324 FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

cept sacred songs and hymns. Her voice, like her pen, was
"always, only, for her King;" and many hearts were
touched by her consecrated singing and writing. She con-
sidered every moment of her time as* belonging to the Lord,
and sought to use it to His glory. She was very fond of
romping over the mountains in Switzerland, and her Al-
pine guide said that in climbing them she '' went up like a
chamois," but these rambles were for the benefit of her
health, and she embodied in her writings the thoughts con-
cerning God suggested to her by His handiwork in nature.
She also sought to win souls for Christ during her numer-
ous visits to Switzerland. Not only did she>consider every
moment of her time as wholly the Lord's, but she regarded
every penny of her money as belonging to Him. " I forget
sometimes," says she, ''but as a rule I never spend a six-
pence without the distinct feeling that it is His, and must
be spent for Him only, even if indirectly." She did not
feel free to spend her money for " costly array." She gave
her jewelry for the missionary cause, and dressed plainly
but neatly. Her idea of the proper way for a Christian to
dress was so as not to attract attention either by slovenli-
ness or extravagance. " The question of cost I see very
strongly," says she, ** and do not consider myself at liberty
to spend on dress that which might be spared for God's
work ; but it costs no more to have a thing well and pret-
tily made, and I should only feel justified in getting a costly
dress if it would last proportionately longer."

Miss Havergal's time was now occupied with her writ-
ing, in giving Bible readings and addresses, in visiting the
poor, and in doing needlework for the Zenana missions and
for the poor. In 1877 she took up temperance work as
well. She spent much time in visiting from house to house,
to read the Bible and point souls to Christ. She often gave
Bible readings or addressed meetings in drawing rooms and

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL 325

Other places, and frequently led consecration meetings. The
first consecration meeting she was ever in was conducted
by herself, and it was a time of rich blessing. Deeply spir-
itual and full of trust were her Bible readings and addresses.
She often sang in churches, hospitals, and other places.
Every morning she spent much time in studying and mark-
ing her Bible, sitting at her table to do so. Sometimes, on
bitterly cold mornings, her sister would beg her to study
with her feet to the fire. "But then," Frances would reply,
" I can't rule my lines neatly; just see what a find I've got!
If one only searches there are such extraordinary things in
the Bible ! " Many were the letters of comfort and conso-
lation that she sent to all parts of the earth. Her books also
carried a blessing with them wherever they went. Children
flocked to her in crowds, and grown people corresponded
with her from all quarters. From morning to night she
was occupied in the Master's service.

Miss Havergal often referred to the experience of 1873,
which made the closing years of her life such a blessing to
others. In 1875 she said to her sister, " It's no mistake,
Marie, about the blessing God sent me December 2, 1873 ;
it is far more distinct than my conversion, I can't date that.
I am always happy, and it is such peace," The same year
she wrote, " He has granted me to rejoice fully in His will,
I am not conscious of even a wish crossing it ; I do really
and altogether desire that His will may be done, whatever
it is." Even when suffering from poor health, or after some
great temporal loss, she could still " rejoice in the Lord,
and joy in the God of her salvation" (Habakkuk 3: 18).
When her American publishers failed, and she did not re-
ceive the money due for her books, she wrote, "I have not
a fear, or a doubt, or a care, or a shadow upon the sunshine
of my heart." Later, when many valuable stereotype plates
of her music and songs were destroyed by fire, she was still

J25 PRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

happy, believing that God had a purpose in allowing adver-
sities. She was a daily illustration of "Without Careful-
ness."

She suffered much from poor health; and as the years
went on her health was more and more broken. She liter-
ally wore herself out ministering to others. When her
friends sympathized with her sufferings in her last illness,
she whispered, " Never mind I It's home the faster ! God's
will is delicious; He makes no mistakes." Shortly before
she expired she requested that her favorite text, " The blood
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin," should be
placed on her tomb. On her dying bed she frequently ex-
claimed, " So beautiful to go ! " Near the end she said,
** Oh, I want you all to speak bright, Bright words for
Jesus ! Oh, do, do ! It is all perfect peace, I am only wait-
ing for Jesus to take me in."

Perhaps Miss Havergal's experience is best described in
her own words, quoted by her sister :

There were strange soul depths, restless, vast, and broad,

Unfathomed as the sea;
An infinite craving for some infinite stilling;
But now Thy perfect love is perfect filling.

Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God,

Thou, Thou art enough for me."

A. J. Gordon

A. J. GORDON

One of the most famous Spirit-filled ministers of mod-
cm times was Dr. Adoniram Judson Gordon. His deeply
spiritual books, especially "The Ministry of the Spirit,"
have been a means of deepening the faith and experience
of many of the Lord's children.

Gordon was bom in New Hampshire, April 13, 1836
His parents were devout Christians of the Old School Bap-
tist type. Adoniram was a " thoughtless, somewhat indif-
ferent, unresponsive lad " until about fifteen years of age.
There were twelve children in the family, and his life, like
that of the others, was little out of the ordinary. He helped
his father in the little wooden mill owned by him, and
worked on the farm.

At about fifteen years of age Adoniram became inter-
ested in the salvation of his soul. His conviction of sin be-
came very deep until finally it was almost unendurable. He
spent a whole night in such anguish of soul that his father
was obliged to sit up with him until daybreak. " Calm as
the sunshine which flooded the hills the next day was the
boy spirit which had found peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ," says his son, in the biography of his
father.

Soon after his conversion to Christ he was baptized and
received into the church. Before his conversion he cared
but little for books. Study was a very unpleasant task
to him. But after his conversion new desires and ambitions

3«)

330 A. J. GORDON

took possession of hiniy and he applied himself diligently
to his studies. Soon after his sixteenth year he openly
confessed to the church his desire and determination to
prepare for the ministry. An old deacon remarked to
someone, ** Judson is a good boy, and would make a good
minister if he only had energy." Little did he foresee the
life of incessant toil and consecrated energy awaiting the
seemingly sluggish lad.

Young Gordon was sent to a preparatory school, and
worked during all his spare hours to help pay his tuition
and other expenses. He was very anxious to master the
Greek language, so that he would better understand the
New Testament. In 1856 he went to Brown University.
He took but meditun rank as a scholar, but his reading was
extensive. In i860 he entered the Newton Theological
Seminary. The Civil War then broke out, and he was fired
with a desire to go to the front with many of his comrades.
But, strong abolitionists as they were, his parents were so
thoroughly opposed to his going that he finally gave up the
purpose.

Before leaving the seminary he preached a number of
times in surrounding villages. In 1863 he graduated, and
accepted a call to become pastor of the little diurch at
Jamaica Plain, near Boston. He was six years at this
little church on the suburbs of Boston. The church pros-
pered and increased in numbers under his ministry, and the
people were loathe to part with him when he received a call
from an important church in Boston, in 1867. He declined
the new call over and over again, but the Boston diurch
would take no denial. He wrote out a letter of acceptance,
but tore it up again. At last the pressure became so great
that, in 1869, he accepted the pastorate of the Qarendon
Street Baptist Church, in Boston, the church where he
was destined to become famous.

A. /. GORDON 831

Boston was full of skepticism and unbelief, and Qar-
endon Street Church was in a very sluggish spiritual con-
dition when Gordon became the pastor. It was a very
wealthy and exclusive church, and there was but little
room for the poor in it. "A line of substantial mer-
chants and bankers ran up and down the ends of the
most desirable pews."

Dr. Gordon remained pastor of Clarendon Street Church
for more than a quarter of a century. By persevering in
preaching the plain unvarnished truths of the gospel he
at last saw the church completely transformed. It be-
came one of the most spiritual and aggressive churches.

The great secret of Dr. Gordon's wonderful success in
the ministry was doubtless in his own personal experience
of the baptism and anointing of the Holy Spirit, which he
seems to have received at one of Mr. Moody's conferences
at Northfieldy some time after he began his ministry at the
Clarendon Street Church. The deepening of his spiritual
experience seems to have been brought about through two
great agencies — the prayers and labors of the famous Uncle
John Vassar, and the great meetings which Mr. Moody held
in Boston close to Dr. Gordon's church, in 1877. Of Unde
John Vassar, Gordon wrote : " Far beyond any man whom
I ever knew, was it true of him that his citizenship was in
heaven, and so filled was he with the glory and power of
the heavenly life that to many he seemed like a foreigner
speaking an unknown tongue. I have never been so hum-
bled and quickened by contact with any living man as with
him. Hundreds of Christians, while sorrowing that they
shall see his face no more for the present, will bless God
as long as they live for the inspiration which they received
from his devoted life." Ernest B. Gordon, son of Dr. Gor-
don, says, concerning Uncle John Vassar : " For five suc-
cessive years, off and on, ' Unde John ' labored with the

332 A. J. GORDON

Qarendon Street Church in his peculiar work of * spiritaal
census-taking/ going through the streets of proud, ccdti-
vated, self-righteous Boston, ringing every door-bell, and
confronting every household with the g^eat question of the
new birth. He was wont to describe himself as 'only a
shepherd dog, ready to run after the lost sheep and bring
them back to the Shepherd,' and ever refused the honors
and emoluments of the ministry. He would literally travail
in prayer for the unconverted. * The nights which he spent
at my home,' writes Gordon, * were nights of prayer and
pleading for my congregation and my ministry. Again and
again would I hear him rising in the midnight hours to
plead with God for the unsaved, till I had frequently 'to
admonish him that he must not lose his sleep.' And so he
wrought and prayed and instructed the young minister,
meekly teachable before such a master of spiritual things,
in those hard-learned and rarely acquired secrets which
open the way to the heart of sinful humanity.

''The inspiration this faithful man brought with him
accrued principally to the pastor of Clarendon Street The
influence of Mr. Moody's meetings in 1877 affected both
pastor and people. Indeed, this year was the turning-point,
the climacteric which, after seven years of lethargic re-
ligious life, opened a new period of spiritual health. When
the revival meetings were finished, Gordon realized that
Che crest of the hill had been passed, and that the crisis in
the struggle for a spiritual church was over.

" These meetings which were organized and carried on
by Mr. Moody with all the executive ability and religious
fervor for which he is distinguished, were held in a large
tabernacle — b, great ' tent,' indeed, of brick and spruce tim-
ber, with nothing about it to attract but the gospel of Christ
preached therein. This building stood within three hundred
feet of the Clarendon Street Church, which was used from

A. J. GORDON 333

Ac banning for overflow and ' inquiry ' meetings. The
tabernacle was thronged night after night by audiences of
from five to seven thousand. People of all ranks and con-
ditions attended. Excursion trains brought in thousands
from all parts of New England. Seventy thousand fam-
ilies in Boston were personally visited. Great noon prayer-
meetings were held daily in Tremont Temple by business
men. Meetings were organized for young men, for boys,
for women, for the intemperate — ^in short, for all classes in
the community that were ready to help or be helped.

*' And at the center of all these operations stood the
Qarendon Street Church, like a cemetery temporarily oo
cupied by troops in battle. What a shattering and over«
whelming of weather-stained moss-grown traditions fol«
lowed! What experiences of grace, what widening vistas
of God's power, what instruction in personal religion, re-
sulted from these six months of revival! A window was
built into the religious life of the church, letting in floods
of light The true purpose of a church's existence began
to be emphasized. Drunkards and outcasts were daily re-
claimed, and brought into fellowship. Christian evidences
of the best sort, evidences which had to do with the potency
of a saving Christ, were multiplied to affluence, strengthen-
ing the faith of believers. The duty and opportunity of all
in the work of the inquiry room were asserted. A great
education in methods of practical religious work resulted."

It seems to have been in 1882, during the first of Mr.
Moody's Northfield conventions, that Gordon received the
anointing of the Holy Spirit. We quote the following ac-
count from the biography written by his son.

"The letters which follow touch closely upon North-
field, and illustrate from Dr. Gordon's personal experience
the doctrine of ' enduement for service,' which he preached
with so mixch power at the conferences.

334 A. J. CORDON

" 'Df . Gordon/ writes Mr. George C. Needham, * unlike
some Christians, believed there was something always be-
yond. This he ever sought to attain. Fifteen years ago,
during the first Northfield convention, he was desirous to
secure what he yet needed as a saint and servant of Christ.
Toward the close of those memorable ten days, spent more
in prayer than in preaching, my beloved friend joined me
in a midnight hout of great heart-searching and infilling
of the Spirit. He read with peculiar tenderness our Lord's
intercessory prayer of John XVII. The union of the be-
liever with Christ and the Father, as taught by our Lord
in that chapter, called out fervent exclamations, while with
deep pathos he continued reading. During united prayer
which followed the holy man poured out his soul with a
freedom and unction indescribable. I never heard him
tx>ast of any spiritual attainment reached during the mid-
night hour. Soul experiences were to him very sacred, and
not to be rehearsed on every ordinary occasion. But I have
no doubt he received then a divine touch which further en-
nobled his personal life and made his ministry of ever-in-
creasing spirituality and of ever-widening breadth of sym-
pathy/ "

Immediately after the conference referred to above. Dr.
Gordon went to Seabright, New Jersey, to preach one Sun-
day. The following is from a letter of one who heard him
preach at this sea-'side resort : " I remember his once coming
from Northfield after the August Conference. He seemed
filled with the Spirit ; he could not talk commonplaces. He
said he had had a great blessing. He went to his rocnn, and
came out shortly after and said he was going down to the
fisher village, and asked the way. He did not come back
until we were at dinner that hot afternoon. He had visited
the beer and liquor saloons and prayed with the men thcfCb

A. J. GORDON 335

and had been among the shanties. I know more than one
family saved that day."

Dr. Gordon's Spirit-filled life and deeply spiritual books
have had a powerful influence for good throughout the
worldy and his memory has the sweet savor of a saintly
life. He was one of the most prominent leaders and
speakers in Mr. Moody's great Northfield Conventions,
and one year Mr. Moody left the Convention entirely in
his charge. Dr. Arthur T. Pierson, speaking concerning
Gordon's addresses at these conventions, says : " He taught
with authority, but it was with a derived and deputed au-
thority. Among all the renowned speakers at the Northfield
Conference, he was facile princeps ; and the address he gave
there last summer on the Holy Spirit has been pronounced
by competent judges the most complete ever given, even
from that platform of great teachers."

In his " Ministry of the Spirit," which is perhaps his
g^eaitest work. Dr. Gordon presents the work of the Holy
Spirit in a three-fold aspect, — sealing, filling, and anoint-
ing. The sealing is accompanied with assurance, the filling
with power, and the anointing with knowledge. In his well
known book on " The Ministry of Healing," Dr. Gordon
opposes the so-called " Christian Science," which had its
headquarters in Boston, the city where his church was lo-
cated ; but he advocated the power of the Lord to heal dis-
ease or to keep His children well without the use of medi-
cines. Dr. Gordon was also a firm believer in the pre-mil-
lenial coming of Christ. He preached much on these
deeper spiritual themes in the many conventions visited by
him. His services were in great demand in religious gath-
erings throughout the country, and great multitudes eagerly
listened to his sermons. His missionary training school in
Boston also became a great factor for the spread of the gos-
peL His church became so spiritual and energetic that it

336 A. J. GORDON

undertook many diflferent forms of Christian work, includ-
ing the missionary training institute, a mission to the Jews,
a mission to the Chinese, a mission to the colored people,
an industrial home, rescue work for fallen women, and
evangelistic work on the wharves, in hospitals, in street car
stables, and in weak churches. From ten to twenty mis-
sionaries and evangelists were also working in connection
with Clarendon Street Church. Often the church was
crowded to the doors with eager listeners. Even Jews and
Chinamen were often brought to Christ in the meetings.

Dr. Gordon felt that he could not consistently denounce
theatre going if he allowed the house of prayer to be turned
into a play-house. He sometimes quoted a returned mis-
sionary as saying : " For the honor of Christ I pray that
the heathen may never learn how the American Christians
raise money for missions." No questionable forms of rais-
ing money were ever resorted to in his church. He sought
to follow the Scriptures implicitly and would not allow the
use of leavened, or fermented, wine or bread in the com-
munion.

The " Life of David Brainerd," the consecrated mission-
ary, had a wonderful influence in deepening the spiritual
life of Gordon. He declared that he had never received
such spiritual help from any other book of human origin.
He used to visit the graves of Eliot, Brainerd, and Ed-
wards, and there received fresh inspiration to devote his
life fully to the service of God.

On the morning of Feb. 2, 1895, ^^' Gordon, with " Vic-
tory " as the last clearly audible word on his lips, fell asleep
in Jesus, so far as the mortal body was concerned ; but his
spirit is doubtless with the " great cloud of witnesses " men-
tioned in the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews. His
life will continue to exert a hallowed influence in this world.

D. L. MOODY

D. L. Moody was undoubtedly one of the greatest
evangelists of all time. The meetings held by Moody and
Sankey were among the gfreatest the world has ever known.
They were the means under God of arousing the church to
new life and activity, and were the means of sweeping tens
of thousands of persons into the kingdom of God.

Mr. Moody was one of the weak instruments which God
has chosen to confound the mighty. Like Christmas Evans,
he had very littie education before his conversion to Christ.
At seventeen years of age he could scarcely read or write,
and in a Bible class he could not turn to the book of John
but searched for it in the Old Testament. After his conver-
sion he became a proficient scholar. Few men have learned
so much in the school of observation.

Dwight Lyman Moody was of old New England Puri-
tan stock. For seven generations, or two hundred years,
his ancestors lived the quiet lives of farmers in the Con-
necticut Valley. Moody inherited the vigorous constitu-
tion and hardy common sense of the typical New Englander.
He was the sixth child in a family of nine children, and
was bom February 5, 1837, in the town of Northfield, Mas-
sachusetts, where he afterwards founded his famous Bible
schools. His home town was always very dear to him, and
it was one of the greatest pleasures of his life to return to
it after a long and arduous evangelistic campaign.

339

340 D,L, MOODY

Moody's father died at the early age of forty-one, and
left his widow in poverty with a mortgage on the home and
seven children to support. The creditors seized everything
they could, even to the firewood, and the children had to
stay in bed until schooltime to keep warm. A brother of
the widowed mother then came to their rescue and helped
to relieve their immediate needs. In their extremity Rev.
Mr. Everett, the Unitarian minister, was very kind to them,
and all the Moody children became members of his Sunday
School, and were enlisted as workers to bring in other chil-
dren. It was here, therefore, that young Moody began his
successful career as a Sunday School worker. Moody's
mother had sought to bring up her children as a Christian
mother should and Dwight never wandered into g^oss sins
as so many young men have done. Lying, complaining,
breaking of promises, or talking evil about others, was
never allowed in the home. One evening when the chil-
dren had but little to eat, they divided their scant supply
with a beggar. When Dwight was eight years of age, he
and an elder brother were crossing the river in a skiflf with
a boatman who was too drunk to row the boat, and who
would not let them touch the oars. They were drifting
rv ith the current, but Dwight urged his brother to trust in
the Lord, and they came safely to land. Dwight was mis-
chievous but not wicked as a boy.

The Moody family were so poor that the boys would
carry their shoes and stockings in their hands on their way
to church, to save them from wear, and when in sight of
the church would put them on. Dwight thought it hard,
after working all week, to have to go to church and listen
to a sermon he did not understand. Once the preacher had
to send someone to the gallery to awaken him. But he got
in such a habit of going that he could not stay away, and

D, L. MOODY 341

he afterwards said that he thanked his mother for making
him go when he did not feel like going.

At ten years of age Dwight left home in company with
another brother to work at a place about thirteen miles
away. This nearly broke his mother's heart, as she had
striven so hard to keep the family together. He was fondly
attached to his mother and sorrowed over leaving her.
When he arrived at the new place an aged man gave him
a penny and bade him trust the Lord. " That old man's
blessing has followed me for fifty years," said Mr. Moody.

At seventeen years of age, Moody, tired of farm life
and ambitious to work his way upward in the world, de-
cided to go to Boston. He arrived there without any
money, and tried in vain to find work until he was almost
in despair. He then found emplo)mient with an uncle who
was in the shoe business. He succeeded well as a salesman,
and became a regular attendant at the Mount Vernon Con-
gregational Sunday School. Having but little schooling, he
took but little part in the discussions in the class in Sunday
School, but gradually became deeply interested in the study
of the Bible, and finally took part in the discussions in the
class. His teacher, Mr. Kimball, took great interest in him,
and gradually led him to see the plan of salvation until all
that was necessary was a personal interview to lead him
to Christ. Mr. Kimball prayerfully sought for a proper
time for this interview.

" I determined to speak to him about Christ and about
his soul," says Mr. Kimball, " and started down to Holton's
shoe store. When I was nearly there I began to wonder
whether I ought to go in just then during business hours.
I thought that possibly my call might embarass the boy, and
that when I went away the other clerks would ask who I
was, and taunt him with my efforts in trying to make him
a good boy. In the meantime I had passed the store, and.

342 D, L, MOODY

discovering this, I determined to make a dash for it and
have it over at once. I found Moody in the back part of
the building wrapping up shoes. I went up to him at once,
and putting my hand on his shoulder, I made what I after-
ward thought was a very weak plea for Christ. I don't
know just what words I used, nor could Mr. Moody tell.
I simply told him of Christ's love for him and the love
Christ wanted in return. That was all there was. It
seemed the young man was just ready for the light that
then broke upon him, and there, in the back of the store in
Boston, he gave himself and his life to Christ."

Moody's whole life was now changed, and became one
of joyful Christian service. " Before my conversion," says
he, " I worked towards the Cross, but since then I have
worked from the Cross; then I worked to be saved, now
I work because I am saved." Again, he says : " I remem-
ber the morning on which I came out of my room after I
first trusted Christ. I think the sun shone a good deal
brighter than it ever had before — I thought that it was
just smiling upon me ; and as I walked out on Boston Com-
mon and heard the birds singing in the trees, I thought they
were all singing a song to me."

Moody was now running over with zeal and love for
the Master, but he does not seem to have received mudi
help and encouragement from the conservative deacons and
church members in the church which he was attending.
Next year after his conversion he was denied church mem-
bership, because he was " not sufficiently instructed in Chris-
tian doctrine." Three of the committee who examined him
were appointed to instruct him in the way of God more per-
fectly.

In 1856, the second year after his conversion, Moody
went to Chicago, where he united with the Plymouth Con-
gregational Church and became a very active Christian

p. L. MOODY 343

worker, putting his soul and energy into the work of win-
ning men to Christ. He rented a pew in the church, and
filled it with young men every Sunday. Then he rented an-
other and another until he had rented and filled four pews.
The great revival awakened by Finney spread to Chicago,
and Moody was in his element. Meanwhile he was pros-
pering in his business, and was so good a salesman of shoes
that his employer sent him out as a commercial traveler.

He found a little mission Sunday School in Chicago
where they had sixteen teachers and only twelve scholars.
Here he applied to become a teacher. They consented on
condition that he would find his own scholars. This just
suited his taste and next Sunday he arrived with eighteen
little hoodlums which he had gathered from the streets.
He soon had the building crowded. In the fall of 1858
he began another mission school on a larger scale in an-
other part of the city. The large hall was soon over-
crowded. He then procured a larger hall, which after-
ward developed into one of the leading churdies of Chi-
cago. This big hall he soon had filled with street '* gam-
ins." The children loved him and crowded in by the hun-
dreds and sung the hymns with great enjoyment. Moody
also enticed them in with prizes, free pony rides, picnics,
candies, and other things dear to the hearts of children.
Scholars were allowed to transfer to any class they de-
sired by simply notifying the superintendent ; and this plan
resulted in the survival of the fittest teachers. The school
soon numbered 1,500. Moody decided to build a church
and issued certificates on the " North Market Sabbath
School Association; capital $10,000; 40,000 shares at 25
cents each." The Sunday School grew to such propor-
tions that parents were drawn in, and then meetings were
held almost every night in the week. Many prominent men
assisted Moody in the Sunday School and in the meetings,

344 I>'L. MOODY

but so much devolved on him that he had sometimes to be
both janitor and superintendent. This practical training
contributed much to his success as a preacher. Doubtless
he needed such training, as at first he seems to have spoken
very awkwardly in public. When he first arose to speak
in a prayer-meeting one of the deacons assured him that,
in his opinion, he would serve God best by keeping still.
Another critic, who praised Moody for his zeal in filling
the pews at Plymouth Church, said that he should realize
his limitations and not attempt to speak in public. '' You
make too many mistakes in grammar," said he " I know
I make mistakes," was the reply, " and I lack many things,
but I'm doing the best I can with what I've got." He then
paused, and looking at the man searchingly, inquired, in
his own inimitable way, " Look, here, friend, you've got
grammar enough — what are you doing with it for the
Master ? "

Mr. Moody's great Sunday School work was accom-
plished before he was more than twenty-three years of
age. With all his work for Christ he had no thought of
entering the ministry until he found that souls were being
led to Christ through his efforts. He then decided to give
up the business in which he had been engaged, and in
which he had already made over $7,000, and to devote all
his time to Christian work.

During the Civil War Moody became a prominent mem-
ber of the Christian Commission, and did a great work
holding meetings and distributing gospels and tracts among
the soldiers and prisoners of war quartered in Chicago and
on many leading battle->fields of the Southern States.
After the war he returned to Chicago and again devoted
himself to Sunday School and Young Men's Christian As-
sociation work. His Sunday School was so great a suc-
cess that it made him famous all over the country. In-

D. L. MOODY 345

quiries concerning his methods of work came from all
directions, and people traveled thousands of miles to learn
them. He was called to many places to address Sunday
School conventions and to help organize Sunday School
work. Through his efforts many Sunday Schools were led
to agree to use the same lessons each Sunday, and thus
the International Sunday School lessons were started.

Moody became one of the most prominent Young
Men's Qiristian Association workers in America, and it
was at a Y. M. C. A. convention in Indianapolis, Indiana,
in 1870, that he first met Ira David Sankey, who was
destined to become his great singing partner. Moody was
so impressed with his singing that he asked him to come
with him and sing for him, and in Indianapolis they held
their first meeting together, in the open air. Some months
afterward Sankey gave up his business and joined Mr.
Moody in his work.

In 1867 Mr. Moody made up his mind to go to Great
Britain and study the methods of Christian work employed
in that country. He did so, accompanied by Mrs. Moody,
who was suffering from asthma. He was particularly
anxious to hear Spurgeon, the great English preacher, and
George Muller, who had the large orphanages at Bristol.
Moody was then unknown in England except to a few
prominent Sunday School leaders, but he spoke a number
of times in London and Bristol with good results.

It was during this first visit to Britain that Moody
heard the words which set him hungering and thirsting
after a deeper Christian experience and which marked a
new era in his life. The words were spoken to him by Mr.
Henry Varley, the well known evangelist, as they sat to-
gether on a seat in a public park in Dublin. The words
were these : " The world has yet to see what God wiU do
with and for and through and in and by the man who is

346 D. L. MOODY

fully consecrated to Him," " He said ' a man ' " thought
Moody, '* he did not say, a great man, nor a learned man,
nor a ' smart ' man, but simply ' a man.' I am a man, and
it lies with the man himself whether he will or will not
make that entire and full consecration. I will try my
utmost to be that man." The words kept ringing in his
mind, and burning their way into his soul until finally he
was led into the deeper, richer, fuller experience for which
his soul yearned. The impression the words made was
deepened soon afterward by words spoken by Mr. Bewley,
of Dublin, Ireland, to whom he was introduced by a friend.
" Is this young man all O and O ? " asked Mr. Bewley.
" What do you mean by ' O and O ' ? " said the friend.
"Is he out and out for Christ?" was the reply. From
that time forward Moody's desire to be " O and O " for
Christ was supreme.

Moody's hunger for a deeper spiritual experience was
deepened by the preaching of Henry Moorehouse, the fam-
ous English boy preacher, who visited Moody's church in
Chicago soon after Mr. Moody returned to America. For
seven nights Moorehouse preached from the text, John
3:16, '' For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." Every night he rose to
a higher and higher plain of thought, beginning at Genesis
and going through the Bible to Revelation, showing how
much God loved the world. He pointed out how God
loved the world so much that He sent patriarchs and
prophets, and other holy men to plead with the people,
and then He sent His only Son, and when they had killed
Him, He sent the Holy Ghost. In closing the seventh ser-
mon from the text, he said : " My friends, for a whole week
I have been trying to tell you how much God loves you,
but I cannot do it with this poor stammering tongue. If

D. L. MOODY 347

I <ould borrow Jacob's ladder and climb up into heaven
and ask Gabriel, who stands in the presence of the Al-
mighty, to tell me how much love the Father has for the
world, all he could say would be, ' God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be-
lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life/ "
Moody's heart was melted within him as he listened to the
young preacher describing the love of God for lost man-
kind. It gave him such a vision of the love of God as he
had never seen before, and from that time forward Moody's
preaching was of a more deeply spiritual character.

Moody continued to hunger for a deepening of his own
spiritual life and experience. He had been greatly used of
God, but felt that there were much greater things in store
for him. The year 1871 was a critical one with him. He
realized more and more how little he was fitted by personal
acquirements for his work, and how much he needed to be
qualified for service by the Holy Spirit's power. This re-
alization was deepened by conversations he had with two
ladies who sat on the front pew in his church. He could
see by the expression of their faces that they were praying.
At the close of the service they would say to him, "We
have been praying for you." " Why don't you pray for
the people ? " Mr. Moody would ask. " Because you need
the power of the Spirit," was the reply. " I need the
power! Why," said he, in relating the incident after-
wards, " I thought I had power. I had the largest con-
gregation in Chicago, and there were many conversions.
I was in a sense satisfied. But right along those two godly
women kept praying for me, and their earnest talk about
anointing for special service set me thinking. I asked them
to come and talk with me, and they poured out their hearts
in prayer that I might receive the filling of the Holy Spirit.

348 D, L. MOODY

There came a great hunger into my soul. I did not know
what it was. I began to cry out as I never did before. I
really felt that I did not want to live if I could not have
this power for service."

" While Mr. Moody was in this mental and spiritual
condition," says his son, " Chicago was laid in ashes. The
great fire swept out of existence both Farwell Hall and
Illinois Street Church. On Sunday night after the meet-
ing, as Mr. Moody went homeward, he saw the glare of
flames, and knew it meant ruin to Chicago. About one
o'clock Farwell Hall was burned; and soon his church
went down. Everything was scattered."

Mr. Moody went East to New York City to collect
funds for the sufferers from the Chicago fire, but his heart
and soul were crying out for the power from on high.
" My heart was not in the work of begging," says he.
" I could not appeal. I was crying all the time that God
would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city
of New York — oh, what a day! — I cannot describe it, I
seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience
to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke
for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Him-
self to me, and I had such an experience of His love that
I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching
iagain. The sermons were not different; I did not present
any new truths ; and yet hundreds were converted. I would
not now be placed back where I was before that blessed
experience if you should give me all the world — ^it would
be as the small dust of the balance."

Moody's church was soon rebuilt in Chicago, thousands
of Sunday School scholars contributing five cents each to
place a brick in the new edifice. But the anointing of the
Spirit which he received while walking along the streets of

D. L. MOODY 349

New York set his soul on fire in such a way that his work
soon became a world-wide one. Desiring to learn more of
the Scriptures from English Bible students, he visited Eng-
land again in 1872. He did not expect to hold any meet-
ings during this visit, but he accepted an invitation to preach
at the Sunday morning and evening service at Arundel
Square Congregational Church in the North part of Lon-
don. In the evening the power of the Spirit seemed to
fall upon the congregation, and the inquiry room was
o'owHecl with persons seeking salvation. Next day he
went to Dublin, Ireland, but an urgent telq^am called him
back to continue his meetings at the North London Church.
He continued there for ten days and four hundred persons
were added to the church. He was invited to Dublin and
Newcastle but decided not to go at that time, and he re-
turned to America.

Next year, at the invitation of two English friends, he
started for England, accompanied by Mr. Sankey. His
English friends had promised funds for the visit, but the
money did not come and Mr. Moody borrowed enough to
enable him to go to England. On arriving there he learned
that both of his friends had died. No door seemed open
for him. But before leaving America he had received a
letter from the Secretary of the Y. M. C. A. at York, Eng-
land, inviting him to address the young men there if he ever
came to England. He and Mr. Sankey went to York, and
began a series of meetings there which lasted for five weeks.
Interest gradually increased until the meeting places were
crowded half an hour before the time of service, and many
souls decided for Christ.

The evangelists went from York to Sunderland, where
they had still greater meetings than in York. The largest
halls in the city had to be secured for the services. Their

3S0 D. L. MOODY

next series of meetings was in Newcastler Here the meet-
ings were gigantic, special trains bringing people from sur-
rounding cities and towns. Here the evangelists published
their first hymn-book, which soon became popular all over
Britain. On their return to America, in 1875, they pub-
lished a similar hymn-book entitled " Gospel Hynms, No.
I," which was followed by Numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. These
books have been a means of blessing to multitudes through-
out the world. They marked a new era in the history of
the Qiristian church. The royalties on them were at first
devoted to a number of benevolent purposes, but afterwards
to the founding and carrying on of Mr. Moody's great Bible
schools at Northfield.

From the North of England the evangelists went to
Scotland, and began a series of meetings in Edinburgh.
Here they had one of the greatest series of meetings ever
known in the world's history. No building was large enough
to accommodate the immense throngs which flocked to their
meetings. " Never, probably," says Professor Blaikie,
*' was Scotland so stirred ; never was there so much expecta-
tion."

In Glasgow, Scotland, the evangelists had similar meet-
ings to those at Edinburgh. At the closing service at the
Crystal Palace, in the Botanic Gardens, the building was
packed so tightly with people Moody could not enter, and
there were still twenty or thirty thousand persons on the
outside. Moody spoke to the great throng from the seat
of a cab, and the choir led the singing from the roof of
a nearby shed. When the Crystal Palace was filled with
inquirers seeking salvation, there were still about 2,000
inquirers on the outside of the building. Moody probably
addressed as many as thirty thousand persons at one
time in Edinburgh and as many as forty thousand in
Glasgow.

D. L. MOODY 351

OAer great meetings were held in Liverpool and many
other British cities, and finally in London. When the evan-
gelists left Britain, in 1875, after a campaign of two years
and one week, the whole country had been stirred relig^
iously as it had not been stirred since the days of Wesley
and Whitefield. About 14,000 children attended the chil-
dren's meeting in Liverpool. Over 600 ministers attended
the closing services in London. Moody said that he had
such a consciousness of the presence of God in the Lon-
don meetings that "the people seemed as grasshoppers/'
Professor Henry Drtunmond said that Moody spoke to
exactly "an acre of people" every meeting during his
campaign in the East End of London.

On their return to America, Moody and Sankey held
great meetings in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, New York, Bos-
ton, Chicago, and in many other cities of the United States.
In 1881 they again visited Great Britain, and conducted an-
other gigantic evangelistic campaign. After this Moody
made repeated trips to Britain, and once he visited the
Holy Land. He devoted much time to building up his
great Bible schools at Northfield and in Chicago. Dur-
ing the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1893, he conducted
great meetings in the largest halls in the city and in Fore-
paugh's Circus tent, with the assistance of famous preach-
ers from all over the world. Millions heard the gospel
preached during this campaign.

Moody continued his evangelistic campaigns until his
death in 1899. His last great series of meetings was in a
gigantic hall in Kansas City. While there he was seized
with heart trouble and hastened home to die. Among his
last words were, " This is my triumph ; this is my corona-
tion day! I have been looking forward to it for years.'*
This old world had lost its charms for him and for a long

352 D. L. MOODY

time he had been " home-sick for heaven." His earthly re-
mains were laid to rest on " Round Top/' at his beloved
Northfield. By his special request there were no emblems
of mourning at his funeral services. It is estimated that
no less than a hundred million people heard the gospel from
his lips, and his schools are training many others to carry
the Glad Tidings throughout the world.

Qbnkbal Booth

GENERAL BOOTH

One of the greatest religious leaders and reformers of
all time was General William Booth, founder and head of the
Salvation Army. The discipline of the Salvation Army is
so rigorous, its standards so high, and its methods so stren-
uous, it probably never will attract the great mass of pro-
fessing Christians. But, like the Friends Church, the Sal-
vation Army has had a tremendous influence in the deepen-
ing of spiritual life, and in opening up new channels of
Christian service and blessing. Israel was a small nation,
but to that people God gave the adoption, the covenants, the
oracles, and the law. He made Israel the ''husbandmen/'
or teachers of the world. In like manner He has taught
the world many great lessons through the Salvation Army.

Perhaps all other denominations of Christians have been
more one-sided than has the Salvation Army. The Roman
Catholic Church placed too much stress on outward works,
forms and ceremonies. The Protestant Churches probably
went to the other extreme, and emphasized the act of faith
to the n^lect of insisting on good works and holy living.
But the Salvation Army has given the world a new and
greater vision of how saving faith should lead to a life of
oonsecration and service. No other denomination of Chris-
tians seems to have realized so fully the duty of going out
into the highways and byways to minister to the lost and
suffering. The Army is 'The church of the 'black sheep/ "'

3S6 GENERAL BOOTH

The Salvation Army has given the world a new con-
ception of Christianity, and has won the confidence of the
masses. They have not spent their time in discussing
creeds and theories, but have clothed the naked, fed the
hungry, and visited the sick and in prison, and have thus
won the people for Christ. On the great day of judgment
the sheep are separated iroai the goats not by an examina-
tion of their theories, but by an examination as to whether
or not they have really loved their neighbors and ministered
to the sick, suffering, and needy as did the divine Master
when here on earth. The Salvation Army will probably
measure up to this real test of love better than others who
bear the name of Christ. Their creed is a brief one. It
has been summed up in three words — Soap, Soup, and Sal-
vation. They believe in soap to clean men outwardly and
better their physical condition ; in soup to satisfy their hun-
ger and prepare them to receive the message of Salvation;
and in a full and free salvation for all mankind who meet
the conditions.

While ''less creed and more deed'' is the fundamental
basis of the Salvation Army, they do not neglect the great
essential doctrines of repentance, faith, znd the necessity of
holy living. To them repentance is not mere sorrow for
sin, but a real turning away from sin. Faith is not a mere
intellectual act completed in a few seconds; but is a real
reliance of the soul upon Christ, beginning instantly but
continuing through time and eternity. In every Salvation
Army corps throughout the world a Holiness Meeting is
held every week to lead Christians into an experience of
holiness, sanctification, or the filling of the Spirit. With
them holiness is not "imputed" only, but is really imparted
by the indwelling Spirit Without the real power of the
Holy Spirit it would be difficult for them to hold open air

GENERAL BOOTH 357

meetings every night and two or three times on Sundays,
summer and winter, rain or shine. Without the Spirit's
power it would be difficult for every soldier to take part in
both the outdoor and indoor meetings every day in the year,
and yet every Salvation Army soldier is expected to be at
his post and to take part in every meeting if possible. This
is a strenuous life and requires spiritual strength. General
Booth realized this fact, and made sanctification, or the fill-
ing of the Spirit, a fundamental doctrine of the Salvation
Army. Not only the Salvation Army, but most of the work-
ers in mission halls and open-air meetings have learned the
necessity of being filled with the Spirit in order to carry on
an effectual work for Christ.

Few persons have so emphasized and experienced the
Holy Spirit's power as did General Booth and Mrs. Cath-
erine Booth, the "Father" and "Mother" of the Salvation
Army. Before her death Mrs. Booth was universally re-
garded as one of the saintliest and most spiritual of women.
Her influence both within and without the Salvation Army
was tremendous. Thousands and tens of thousands have
been won for Christ or led into a deeper spiritual experience
through the influence of her life. It was no unusual sight to
see scores and scores, and sometimes hundreds of persons
seeking salvation or sanctification at the close of one of
General Booth's addresses, so manifest was the power of the
Spirit in his meetings. He probably visited more coun-
tries and spoke more frequently, and won more souls for
Christ, and rescued more fallen men and women than did
any other person. Already the Salvation Army is at work
in fifty-five different countries, and their shelters, rescue
homes, farm colonies, and emigration bureaus, are doing
more to reclaim the fallen than is any other agency, and

3S» GENERAL BOOTR

we might perhaps truthfully say, that they are doing more
to rescue the fallen than are all other agencies combined.

William Booth, destined to become the founder of the
Salvation Army and one of the greatest of social reformers,
was born at Sneinton, a suburb of Nottingham, England,
April 1O9 1829. His parents were members of the Estab-
lished Church, and his mother was a very devout Christian.
His father made considerable money, but had the misfor-
tune to lose it. William was brought up in poverty and
realized much of the sorrow and suffering which afterwards
made his heart bleed for the poor. At an early age his
father died, and William was left to struggle on in pov-
erty with his widowed mother. He was thus deprived of
the advantages of a good common school education.

As a boy of thirteen William was a social reformer, and
longed to do something to alleviate the sufferings of the
poor. At an early age he deserted the Church of England
and became a regular attendant at the Wesleyan Chapel.
At the age of thirteen he yielded his heart and life to God.
Describing this event, he says : " The Holy Spirit had con-
tinually shown me that my real welfare for time and eter-
nity depended upon the surrender of myself to the services
of God. After a long controversy I made this submission,
cast myself on His mercy, received the assurance of His
pardon, and gave myself up to His service with all my
heart. The hour, the place, and many other particulars of
this glorious transaction are recorded indelibly on my mem-
ory.

Soon after young Booth's conversion, James Caughey,
the famous Spirit-filled American evangelist, visited Not-
tingham. Caughey was a Methodist and preached the Wes-
leyan theory of sanctification with great unction and power.
His preaching made a deep impression on William Booth.

GENERAL BOOTH 3»

and Idndled in his heart a great desire to win souls for
Christ. But for a long time he was too timid to venture
to hold religious meetings. Finally, after much time spent
in prayer and the study of the Scriptures, he ventured to
read the Bible and deliver some comments on the street
corners of Nottingham. He was jeered at, ridiculed, and
even bricks were thrown at him ; but this did not discourage
him. Later he joined some Christian ccxnpanions in holding
meetings in cottages and in the open air. William's early
efforts to speak in public were often very discouraging, but
they laid the foundation of his future usefulness. He was
apprenticed to a firm where he had to work hard until 8
o'dock in the evening, and then he hurried to the cottage
meetings which lasted until lo o'clock, after which he was
sometimes called to visit the sick or dying.

Young Booth soon became the leader of his companions
in these religious services, and then he began to conduct
meetings in country places, stumbling home in the dark, late
at night, after holding the meetings. At seventeen years
of age he was made a local preacher. Two years later his
Superintendent wanted him to become a regular minister,
but the doctor advised him that his health was so poor that
he was totally unfit for the strain of the life of a Metho-
dist minister.

In 1849, when twenty years of age, Mr. Booth removed
to London. Here he was without a friend and almost with-
out money. He found work as a clerk, and spent most of
his leisure time working among the poor. Finally, he de-
voted all his time to preaching, and preached in many parts
of London with varying success. Sometimes he was severely
criticised for his style of preaching, but frequently souls
were brought to Christ in his meetings. He thought of of-
fering himself for the regular ministry, bui his Superintend-

36o GENERAL BOOTH

cnt discouraged him. In 1851 a controversy arose in the
Wesleyan Church over the question of lay representation,
and a large number of ministers who favored lay represen-
tation and other reform movements either seceded or were
expelled from the conference, and formed a new movement
and became known as Reformers. Because of his supposed
sympathy with the Reformers — ^although he took no part
in the controversy — Booth's name was dropped by the min-
ister in charge of his circuit. The Reformers then offered
him a position as pastor of one of their chapels in London.
This he accepted, and here he met Catherine Mumford, the
talented and consecrated young woman who several years
afterward became his wife.

For two or three years Booth preached in London and
various other cities of England, and in many places met
with great success. Many souls were won for Christ in
his meetings. But his life was unsettled. The Reformers
had no settled policy or organization, and they had many
differences of opinion among themselves. Booth tried to
induce them to unite with the Methodist New Connexion,
which believed in lay representation and most of the re-
forms they advocated. Finally he and a number of other
Reformers joined the New Connexion. He now met with
great success in many cities, and his fame as a revivalist
began to spread all over England. Hundreds of persons
now professed conversion to Christ in almost every series
of meetings held by him. At last his financial prospects
were such as to enable him to marry Catherine Mumford,
who had advised and helped him in so many ways. Their
courtship and marriage was an ideal one, and few persons
have been so fully joined in heart and life.

For four years, or until he was thirty-two years of age.
Booth preached for the Methodist New Connexion in a

GENERAL BOOTH 361

number of leading cities, and many thousands of persons
professed conversion to Christ. Nearly two thousand per-
sons claimed conversion in his meetings in less than four
months' time, and so they continued to flock to the altar for
prayer everywhere he went. He repeatedly urged the Con-
ference to allow him to leave the regular circuit work and
devote all his time to evangelistic work, but this they re-
fused to do.

In 1861 he and Mrs. Booth decided to launch out into
evangelistic work and trust the Lord for their support.
Mr, Booth therefore sent in his resignation.

It was shortly before launching out on an independent
course that Mr. Booth was led into a deeper Christian ex-
perience. Both he and Mrs. Booth were diligent students
of the writings of John Wesley, and they accepted his views
on sanctification, or holiness, as well as on other theological
questions. General Booth has written much on the question
of sanctification, heart purity, and so on, but has written
little concerning his own experience of sanctification. In
a letter written by Mrs. Catherine Booth, she briefly de-
scribes how Mr. Booth and herself were led into the ex-
perience of holiness. Writing to her parents, she says : "My
soul has been* much called out of late on the doctrine of
holiness. I feel that hitherto we have not put it in a suf-
ficiently definite and tangible manner before the people —
I mean as a specific and attainable experience. Oh, that I
had entered into the fulness of the enjoyment of it myself.
I intend to struggle after it. In the mean time we have
commenced already to bring it specifically before our dear
people." In another letter, speaking concerning the doc-
trine of sanctification, she says : "William has preached on
it twice, and there is a glorious quickening amongst the
people. I am to speak again next Friday night and on Sun-

$62 GENERAL BOOTH

day afteraoon. Pray for me. I only want perfect con-
secration and Christ as my all, and then I might be very
useful, to the s^ory, not of myself, the most miworthy of
all who e'er His grace received, but of His great and bound-
less love. May the Lord enable me to give my wanderings
o'er and to find in Christ perfect peace and full salvation !

'' I have much to be thankful for in my dearest husband.
The Lord has been dealing very graciously with him for
some time past. His soul has been growing in grace, and
its outward developments have been proportionate. He is
now on full stretch for holiness. You would be amazed
at the change in him. It would take me all night to detail
all the circumstances and convergings of Providence and
Grace which have led up to this experience, but I assure
you it is a glorious reality, and I know you will rejoice in
it*'

Describing how she herself earnestly sought for and
obtained the experience of holiness, she says: ''I strug-
gled through the day until a little after six in the evaiing,
when William joined me in prayer. We had a blessed sea-
son. While he was saying, ' Lord, we open our hearts to
receive Thee,* that word was spoken to my soul : ' Behold,
I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice,
and open unto me, I will come in and sup with him.' I
felt sure He had long been knocking, and oh, how I yearned
to receive Him as a perfect Saviour ! But oh, the inveterate
habit of unbelief! How wonderful diat God should have
borne so long with me.

" When we got up from our knees I lay on the sofa, ex-
hausted with the effort and excitement of the day. William
said, ' Don't you lay all on the altar ? ' I replied, * I am
sure I do I ' Then he said, 'And isn't the altar holy ? ' I
replied in the language of the Holy Ghost, ' The altar is

GENERAL BOOTH 363

most holy, and whatsoever toucheth it is holy/ Then said
he, * Are you not holy ? ' I replied with my heart full of
emotion and with some faith, 'Oh, I think I am/ Im-
mediately the word was given me to confirm my faith,
* Now are ye clean through the word I have spoken unto
you/ And I took hold — ^true, with a trembling hand, and
not unmolested by the tempter, but I held fast the beginning
of my confidence, and it grew stronger, and from that mo-
ment I have dared to reckon myself dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ, my Lord/'

It is evident from the above account of their deeper
Christian experience that both Mr. and Mrs. Booth were
led into this experience by means of the teaching that when
our all is placed on the altar of consecration, the altar
sanctifies the gift. They now became burning, shining lights
for the Master.

After their decision to engage in evangelistic work they
waited for some time before receiving a call, and their faith
was sorely tried. They then received a call to Cornwall,
where a great revival broke out under their labors. Here
Mr. Booth introduced the '' penitent form, " or altar, in his
meetings, which has always been a regular feature of Sal-
vation Army warfare. Perhaps no Salvation Army meet-
ing is held in which there is not a chancel-rail, bench, chair,
drum-head, or some kind of "penitent form" where inquir-
ers can kneel for prayer. In the Cornish meetings the
people were so wrought upon that they exclaimed, " Glory !"
" Hallelujah ! '* and so on, and such ejaculations have al-
ways been conunon in Salvation Army meetings. The
crowds in Cornwall were too great to be accommodated in
any building, and great open-air meetings were held. Open-
air work has always been a leading feature of Salvation
Army warfare.

364 GENERAL BOOTH

After their Cornish campaign Mr. and Mrs. Booth held
many other great evangelistic campaigns in which multi-
tudes were won for Christ. In 1865 they began their work
in East London which developed into the Salvation Army.
A large tent was erected in a disused burying-ground be-
longing to the Friends, and meetings were held in it every
night for two weeks. Open-air meetings were held on Mile
End Waste, and the workers marched in procession from
the open-air meetings to the tent where another service was
hdd. The tent blew down and an old dancing hall was en-
gaged for the meetings. From this small beginning a reg-
ular chain of missions was gradually formed, and this work
was known as "The Christian Mission." In 1877 Mr.
Booth changed the name to ''The Salvation Army/' and
the work was gradually organized on the plan of a well-
disciplined army, with uniform, officers, and regulations re-
sembling those of a regular army. Mrs. Booth designed
the " hallelujah bonnet " so well known today.

In the early days of the Salvation Army, when it was
known as ** The Christian Mission," the power of God was
wonderfully manifest in the meetings. According to Com-
missioner Booth-Tucker, one of the ablest officers of the
Salvation Army, persons were frequently stricken down in
the meetings, overwhelmed with a sense of the presence and
power of God. After the Salvation Army name, uniform,
and discipline was adopted the work grew by leaps and
bounds, and in little more than a quarter of a century its
flag was unfurled in no less than fifty-five different coun-
tries, embracing almost every comer of the earth, and hun-
dreds of thousands of souls had professed conversion to
Christ in the meetings.

In 1890 General Booth published his great book, ''In
darkest England," which produced a sensaticm throughout

GENERAL BOOTH 365

the world. It was the most far-reaching and practical
scheme ever proposed for the uplift of fallen humanity, or
the "down and-out" portion of mankind, or "the submerged
tenth'' as General Booth calls them. He proposed three
things — ^the erection of shelters and industrial homes in the
cities, the establishing of farm colonies in the country, and
the emigration of the poor to more promising parts of the
world. The industrial homes and shelters would give im-
mediate relief to the destitute, the farm colonies would pro-
vide temporary employment, and emigration would provide
a permanent home. In this way the pe(^le would be sent
"back to the land" and the congestion in the cities would
be relieved. Already these schemes have been carried out
on a gigantic scale. Salvation Army shelters are found in
most great cities of the worid and have saved multitudes
from despair. Successful farm colonies have been estab-
lished in several different countries, and tens of thousands
of persons have been assisted to emigrate to Canada, Aus-
tralia, and South Africa.

General Booth believed in, "Going to the people with
the message of salvation ;" and this led to the many forms
of open-air, factory, slum, and other work of the Salva-
tion Army. He believed in, "Attracting the people," and
this has led to the use of the many musical instruments,
lively tunes, and striking notices employed by the Army.
He believed in, "Saving the people," and this has led to
the teaching of a victorious, conquering, sanctifying, cleans-
ing religion that will really save the people from their sins.
He also believes in, "Employing the people," and this has
led to the many meetings, the testifying, singing, and pray-
ing on the part of every soldier ; and it has led to the dif-
ferent officers and also to all the varied social work of the
Salvation Army.

How It 5aves.

L This Ml Ml • Tt • tioa faU wAt» mt. Oh, bow it atfttt

2. 1 ieil Hi pow'r all thro'mj fool^ Oh. how it atml

3. in lofo it M nj dj • tag M, Oh, how It atfwl

4. Ill left it frhM I'm Mfo ta hetfiii. Oh. how It atfwl
6..I1I lofo it thro^ • • tir - ■! - ty, Oh« how It atnpl

iT i f fr u^' ,' r' If rrf I

It itCi iftjtMd tt Ub^or • tj. Oh, how it atfwl

Iti dMM • tag wifM BOW o'or BO roll. Oh, how It aoful

Whao Jor • dan's wafct roll o'or wof haad. Oh, how It atfoil

With an thi ran-aonadaDd. f^-gi?iB, Oh, how it attoil

And ioj ta ood-liM lih - ar - ty, Oh^ how it atfiil

It' f f f ' I

lOMilflMtvA.

From **QTCi.t E«wWil Hymia.**

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

THOMAS A KEMPIS.

Those who are acquainted with the well known booklet
" The Imitation of Christ " have doubtless been impressed
with the thought that the author of so deeply spiritual a
book must have had such trials of faith, such self-cruci-
fixion, and such fellowship with God as is only known to
those who " dwell in the secret place of the Most Higfa.**
Such was true of Thomas a Kempis, whose little book has
been published in every civilized tongue, and has been a
means of blessing for centuries.

A Kempis was bom at Cologne, in 1380, and was very
pious from his early youth. He was brought up in a re-
ligious school and at nineteen years of age became a monk
of the Augustinian order. He filled many of the highest
offices in this order before his death, which occurred when
he was ninetyrtwo years of age. His conversion to Christ
took place during his novitiate, after he was deeply con-
victed of sin and after he had suffered many inward
struggles. After this he had many fierce conflicts of soul
as is very apparent from his writings. "O, how great,"
he exclaims, ''has been the mercy of God towards me!
How often, when I was almost overcome, has He been
my deliverer! Sometimes my passions assailed me as a
whirlwind; but God sent forth His arrows and dissipated
them. The attack was often renewed, but God was stil)
my support By degrees I was weaned from everything

367

368 OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

earthly, and adhered to God alone. Then, I experienced
how sweet, how full of mercy God is to those who truly
love Him. O my God! how merciful hast Thou been to
me I Many have been forsaken by Thee, and are lost, who
were less guilty than I am. But Thy mercies are unspeak-
able. * Let the worthless one (sayest Thou) draw near ta
Me, that he may be made worthy ; the wicked one, that he
may be converted ; the imperfect one, that he may be made
perfect ; let all draw near to Me, and taste the living waters
of salvation. It is my delight to be with the children of

men/ "

WILLIAM PENN.

William Penn, the famous Quaker who founded Penn-
sylvania, who wrote " No Cross, No Crown," and who won
many souls for Christ, was qualified by birth, talents, and
education to be one of the leading noblemen of Great
Britain. Like Moses, he renounced all worldly honors
to suffer bitter persecution with the children of God.
He even suffered imprisonment with the then despised
Quakers.

William Penn was under deep religious impressions as
a child, and was converted to Christ at twelve years of
age. He made a full consecration of everything to God
in 1666, when twenty-two years of age, after hearing the
Quaker preacher Thomas Lee preach about ''The Faith
that Overcomes the World." In his book "The Guide
Mistaken," written in defence of the Quakers, or Friends,
he thus describes the teaching of the Friends r^[arding the
doctrine of Christian Perfection :

" Perfection from sin they hold to be attainable, because
he that is bom of God sins not, and that nothing which is
unclean can enter the kingdom of God; no crown without
victory ; the little leaven leavens the whole lump ; the strong

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS 369

man must be cast out. Paul prays they might be sanctified
wholly; be ye perfect as God is perfect; be perfect, be of
good comfort; unto a perfect man; as many as be per-
fect; that the man of God may be perfect; the God of
peace make you perfect in every good work; the God of
all grace make you perfect; let us cleanse ourselves from
all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God ; etc.

'^And as my faithful testimony both to their life and
doctrine, I declare, and be it known to all that ever knew
me, that when the unspeakable riches of God's love visited
me, by the call of His glorious light, from the dark prac-
tices, wandering notions, and vain conversation of this pol-
luted world, and that my heart was influenced thereby, and
consequently disposed for the more intimate and sincere
reception of it; those very habits which I once judged im«
possible, whilst here, to have relinquished, and did allow
myself a liberty therein, because not openly gross or scan-
dalous, became not only burdensome, and by that light were
manifested to be of another nature than that which I was
called to the participation of ; but in my faithful adherence
to its holy counsel and instructions, I was immediately en-
dued with a power that gave dominion over them."

DR. ADAM CLARKE.

Dr. Adam Garke, the great commentator and preacher,
was one of the most famous of the early Methodist min-
isters, and he is ranked as one of the greatest of Bible
scholars. He insisted on preachers urging people to seek
an experience of entire sanctification, and he preached fre-
quently on the same theme with great unction and poweCi
His powerful treatise on ''Purity of Heart'' was written

24

SfO OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

to show Christians their privilege of being *^ fiUed with all
the fulness of God."

Dr. Qarke is known everywhere as a writer of great
learning, but it is not so generally known that he preached
to immense audiences and was one of the most successful
preachers in the itinerancy of the early Methodist Qiurch.
That he enjoyed a very deep Christian experience himself
is very evident from all his writings. In " Purity of Heart"
he says : ** As there is no end to the merits of Christ incar-
nated and crucified; no bounds to the mercy and love of
God ; no let or hindrance to the almighty energy and sanc-
tifying influence of the Holy Spirit; no limits to the im-
provability of the human soul ; so, there can be no bounds
to the saving influence which God will dispense to the heart
of every genuine believer. We may ask and receive, and
our joy shall be full ! Well may we bless and praise God,
^ who has called us into such a state of salvation ; ' a state
in which we may be thus saved ; and, by the grace of that
state, continue in the same to the end of our lives.

*^ As sin is the cause of the ruin of mankind, the Gospel-
system which exhibits its cure is fitly called 'good news,'
or 'glad tidings;' and it is good news, because it pro-
claims Him who saves His people from their sins; and
it would indeed be dishonorable to that grace, and the in-
finite merit of Him who procured it, to suppose, much more
to assert, that sin had made wounds which grace would not
heal. Of such a triumph Satan shall ever be deprived."

WILLIAM BRAMWELL.

Inseparably connected with the greatest names of early
Methodism are the names of Bramwdl and Carvosso.

Rev. William Bramwdl, who lived at the same time as
Wesley, sang as a choir-boy in the Church of England dur-

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS sn

ixig his earlier years. After suffering under conviction of
sin for many months, he was brightly converted to Christ
and became an earnest worker for the salvation of souls.
Later he became a class-leader, and finally a minister in the
Methodist Church. He was full of zeal, and many souls
were led to Christ. Yet he yearned for a still deeper Chris-
tian experience.

'' I was for some time deeply convinced of my need of
purity," says he, " and sought carefully with tears, entreat-
ies, and sacrifice; thinking nothing too much to give up»
nothing too much to do or suffer, if I might but attain this
pearl of great price. Yet I found it not ; nor knew the rea-
son why till the Lord showed me I had erred in the way
of seeldng it. I did not seek it by faith alone, but as it
were, by the works of the law. Being now convinced of
my error, I sought the blessing by faith only. Still it tar-
ried a little, but I waited for it in the way of faith. When
in the house of a friend at Liverpool, whither I had gone
to settle some temporal affairs, previously to my going out
to travel, while I was sitting, as it might be, on this chair
(pointing to his chair), with my mind engaged in various
meditations concerning my present affairs and future pros-
pects, my heart now and then lifted up to God, but not par-
ticularly about this blessing, heaven came down to eardi;
it came to my soul. The Lord, for whom I had waited,
came suddenly to the temple of my heart ; and I had an im-
mediate evidence that this was the blessing I had for some
time been seddng. My soul was then all wonder, love and
praise."

After receiving the above experience, great power was
given him. Thousands were converted to Christ in his
meetings. Many sick were healed in answer to his prayers,
and remarkable discernment was given him to see and know
the spiritual condition of others.

372 OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

WILLIAM CARVOSSO.

One of the most striking examples of what God can do
for a man without natural talents, without education, and
without worldly advantages of any kind, is found in the
"Memoirs of William Carvosso."

Truly converted from a life of sin at twenty-one years
of age, Carvosso soon afterward sought for and obtained
a still deeper Christian experience, after which he became
a great means of blessing to thousands of persons with
whom he prayed and conversed personally. He was one
of the greatest soul-winners of the early Methodist Church.
He served as class-leader in the Methodist Church in Eng-
land for over sixty years. He learned to write after he
was sixty-five years of age.

Of his deeper experience, Carvosso says: "What I
now wanted was * inward holiness' ; and for this I prayed
and searched the Scriptures. Among the number of prom-
ises, which I found in the Bible, that gave me to see it
was my privilege to be saved from all sin, my mind was
particularly directed to Ezekid 36:25-27. . , . This
is the great and precious promise of the eternal Jehovah,
and I laid hold of it, determined not to stop short of my
privilege; for I saw clearly the will of God was my sanc-
tification. ... At length, one evening, while engaged
in prayer-meeting, the great deliverance came. I b^;an to
exercise faith, by believing, * I shall have the blessing now.'
Just at that moment a heavenly influence filled the room;
and no sooner had I uttered or spoken the words from
my heart, 'I shall have the blessing now,' than refining
fire went 'through my heart, — ^illuminated my soul, — scat-
tered its life through every part, and sanctified the whole.'
I then received the full witness of the Spirit that the blood
of Jesus Christ had cleansed me from all sin. I cried out|

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS 373

' This is what I wanted ! I have now got a new heart.'
• . • O what boundless, boundless happiness there is in
Christ, and all for such a poor sinner as I am I This happy
change took place in my soul March 13, 1772."

BRAINERD.

David Brainerd, the consecrated missionary, endured
almost incredible hardships while laboring among the Amer-
ican Indians; but he lived so dose to God that his life
has been an inspiration to many. His biography was writ-
ten by Jonathan Edwards, was revised by John Wesley,
and influenced the life of Dr. A. J. Gordon more than any
other book outside the Bible.

Such intense longings and prayers after holiness as we
read of in the journals of Brainerd are scarcely recorded
anywhere else. " I long for God, and a conformity to His
will, in inward holiness, ten thousand times more than for
anything here below," says he. On Oct. 19, 1740, he
wrote: "In the morning, I felt my soul hungering and
thirsting after righteousness. In the forenoon, while I
was looking on the sacramental elements, and thinking that
Jesus Christ would soon be * Set forth crucified before me,'
my soul was filled with light and love, so that I was almost
in an ecstacy ; my body was so weak I could hardly stand.
I felt at the same time an exceeding tenderness, and most
fervent love towards all mankind ; so that my soul, and all
the powers of it seemed, as it were, to melt into softness
and sweetness. This love and joy cast out fear, and my
soul longed for perfect grace and glory."

Many were the manifestations of the Spirit in his meet-
ings and during his numerous seasons of fasting and prayer
and longings for holiness of life. He seems to have risen
above the things of this world to a remarkable degree. In

374 OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

his journal of March lo, 1743, he says : ** I fdt exceed-
ing dead to the world and all its enjoyments : I was ready
to give up life, and all its comforts, as soon as called to
it; and yet then had as much comfort of life as almost
ever I had. Life itself appeared but an empty bubble ; the
riches, honors, and enjoyments of it extremely tasteless.
I longed to be entirely crucified to all things here below.
My soul was sweetly resigned to God's disposal of me;
and I saw there had nothing happened to me but what was
best for me. ... It was my meat and drink to be holy,
to live to the Lord, and die to the Lord. And I then en-
joyed such a heaven, as far exceeded the most sublime con-
ceptions of an unregenerate soul; and even unspeakably
beyond what I myself could conceive at another time."

PAYSON.

Edward Payson was the most illustrious of the great
Congregational preachers of Nev/ England. "His pulpit
utterances," say McClintock and Strong, " were of the most
startling and uncompromising character. It may be truly
said of Edward Payson that he labored not to please men,
but God; and his pulpit thundered and lightened like an-
other Sinai against every form of ungodliness and iniquity."
Over seven Jiimdred persons were received into the church
at Portland, Maine, under the pastorship of Payson.

Payson was bom in 1783, was precocious as a child,
and at three years of age he wept under the preaching of
a sermon. He was a good reader when four years old.
In 1803 he graduated from Harvard College. He was di^-
nitely converted to Christ in 1804. After completing a
theological course, he was ordained in 1807.

On September 19, 1827, Payson wrote from his sick-
bed, in a letter to his sister:

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS 375

**Were I to adopt the figurative language of Bunyan,
I might date this letter from the land of Beulah, of which
I have been for some weeks the happy inhabitant The
celestial dty is full in my view. Its glories beam upon me,
its odors are wafted to me, its sounds strike upon my ears,
and its spirit is breathed into my heart Nothing separates
me from it but the river of death, which now appears as
but an insignificant rill, that may be crossed at a single
step whenever God shall give permission. The Sun of
Righteousness has gradually been drawing nearer, appear-
ing larger and brighter as He approached, and now He fills
the whole hemisphere, pouring forth a flood of glory, in
which I seem to float like an insect in the beams of the
sun; exulting, yet almost trembling, while I gaze on this
excessive brightness, and wondering, with unutterable won-
der, why God should deign thus to shine upon a sinful
worm. A single heart and a single tongue seem altogether
inadequate to my wants. I want a whole heart for every
separate emotion, and a whole tongue to express that emo-
tion."

Not long before he expired, he said : '' My soul is filled
with joy unspeakable. I seem to swim in a flood of glory,
which God pours down upon me.'*

DOROTHEA TRUDEL.

Marvelous arci the answers to prayer recorded in the
book entitled, " Dorothea Trudd, or The Prayer of Faith."
Dorothea's mother was a woman of great faith, and be-
lieved that God provided for her large family and kept
them in good health in answer to the prayer of faith. Dor-
othea had such faith that hundreds were healed in answer
to her prayers, and her name became known all over the
world. Travelers in Switzerland often heard about tiie

376 OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

marvelous cures wrought in the remote village of Mamien-
dorf in answer to Dorothea Trudd's prayers.

Dorothea Trudd was bom in 1813 and died in 1862.
She was converted to Christ at twenty-two years of age,
after being so deeply convicted of sin that many thought
she was dying. Some years after this she was led into a
still deeper Christian experience, which she describes as
follows :

" I persevered in working at my trade for a year, dur-
which time the Lord continued to show me much that
tended to my self-abasement. I learned that bodily suffer-
ing cannot produce conformity to God, even when it is
borne with patience ; that the only way in which that grace
can be attained is by the outpouring of the love of God in
the heart. I did not know before what was meant by be-
ing 'nothing,' and yet I had considered myself converted.
But now the Lord opened my eyes, and showed me that
the annoyance I felt to this hour, when tried by any diffi-
culty, arose from the presence of * the old man/ and that
if I possessed the love described in i Cor. 13, which *is
not easily provoked,' and * seeketh not her own,' I should
no longer be provoked to such irritation: from that time
the Lord has so strengthened me night and day that the
wonders which have taken place in accordance with God's
Word will be less marveled at than that I am still spared
and strengthened to labor."

PASTOR BLUMHARDT.

Almost identical with the great mirades of healing
wrought through the prayers and faith of Dorothea Trudel
in Switzerland, were those wrought in answer to the prayers
of the German pastor John Christolph Bltunhardt, who was
bom in 1805 and died in i88o. Hundreds of invalids flocked

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS 377

to him at Mottlingen, and then at Bad Boll, and after be-
ing prayed for they left with complete healing.

Pastor Blumhardt commenced preaching at Mottlingen
in 1828, soon after graduating from the gpreat University
of Tubingen. A remarkable case of deliverance of a wom-
an, who seemed to be possessed with demons, took place
in answer to his prayers. The whole village was stirred and
a great revival followed, and his home was besieged all day
by inquirers after the way of salvation. "Notwithstand-
ing all this," says he, " the feeling that this work of God
would according to the usual course of things, in the long
run, lose its vigor and freshness, made me more and more
familiar with the thought that the church of Qirist at large
wants a new outpouring of the spirit of Pentecost, and that
without this, nothing would be durable. This led me to
pray for a new outpouring of the Spirit, and that without
ceasing, the more so as the signs seemed to indicate that
we are not far from the last times. The clearer I begin
to see the corruption and manifold defects of present Chris-
tendom, the more unavoidable is to me supplication for its
renewal, which can only be accomplished through a special
movement of the Spirit of Gk>d from above."

His special pleading for the Holy Spirit was answered
with an enduement with power from on high. After this
he had so much power in preaching the gospel and in pray-
ing for the sick that his work grew to such an ex-
tent that he was compelled to procure the large gov-
ernment building at Boll, so that he could accommodate the
sick who flocked from all over Europe, and even from
America, that he might pray for their healing. The gov-
ernment sold the building to him at less than cost, and the
King made a special donation to help him start his work
atBolL

398 OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

PHOEBE PALMER.

Inseparably connected with the doctrine of entire con-
secration and sanctification are the names of Dr. and Mrs.
Phoebe Pahner. After obtaining a deeper Christian expe-
rience themselves^ the lives of these two consecratd evan-
gdists were devoted to leading others into the same expe-
rience. The influence of their teachings can be traced in
the lives of many noted Christians of both America and
Britain. Mrs. Palmer is well known for her teaching of
'' Put all upon the altar, and the altar sanctifies the gift/'
This figure was drawn from the fact that in Old Testa-
ment times the fire was always bummg on the altar, and
the sacrifice was consumed as soon as placed on the altar.
So, Mrs. Palmer taught, the fire of the Holy Spirit is al-
ways burning on the altar of true consecration, ready to
consume every one who truly offers himself a living sac-
rifice to God.

For a long time after her conversion, Mrs. Palmer had
a great desire to be sanctified, but she felt as though the
blessing was too great for her to ever think of attaining
to it. A close study of God's Word convinced her that He
had commanded and expected all Christians to be holy,
sanctified, *' vessels unto honor, sanctified and meet for the
Master's use." " This is the will of God, even your sanc-
tification," "For God hath not called you unto unclean-^
ness, but unto holiness," "Be ye holy, for I am holy,"
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord," and many similar passages of
Scripture convinced her of her need of holiness. Then she
began to expect God to convict her deeply for the experi-
ence. At last her eyes were opened to see that " knowl-
edge is conviction/' and that the only conviction necessary
was to be convinced of her need. She then began to seek

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS 379

(earnestly for the experience. At first she felt that great
agony and struggle of soul must be necessary to obtain the
experience. But finally she was convinced that it was to
be obtained by faith, as it was not necessary to struggle
and agonize to obtain an experience which God commands
and expects all Christians to have. She then trusted God for
the experience, and could say with the writer of the hymn,

"When I gave all trying over.
Simply trusting, I was blessed."

In her widely circulated book, "The Way of Holiness,"
she relates her own experience, speaking in the third per-
son, as follows:

" Over and over again, previous to the time mentioned,
had she endeavored to give herself away in covenant to
God. But she had never, till this hour, deliberately re-
solved on counting the cost, with the solemn intention to
* reckon herself dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord " (Rom. 6: ii) ; to account
herself permanently the Lord's, and in truth no more at
her own disposal ; but irrevocably the Lord's property, for
time and eternity. Now, in the name of the Lord Jehovah,
after having deliberately 'counted the cost,' she resolved
to enter into the bonds of an everlasting covenant, with the
fixed pui*pose to count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Jesus, that she might know Him and
the power of His resurrection, by being made conformable
to His death, and raised to an entire newness of life. . • •
On doing this, a hallowed sense of consecration took pos-
session of her soul/' etc.

p. p. BUSS.

One of the most consecrated Christians as well as one
of the greatest of gospel singers and hymn-writers was

380 OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS

Philip Paul Bliss. He was taken away early in life, but
before his departure wrote some of our best hymns, among
them being, " Let the Lower Lights Be Burning," " Hold
the Fort," "Windows Open Toward Jerusalem," "Free
from the Law," " Only an Armour-Bearer," " Pull for the
Shore, Sailors," " The Light of the World is Jesus," " Who-
soever Will," "Almost Persuaded," " I Am So Glad that
Jesus Loves Me," "Hallelujah, 'Tis Done," "The Half
Was Never Told," and many others.

P. P. Bliss was bom in Pennsylvania in 1838, and was
a poor country boy, but very fond of music. He was re-
ligiously inclined from his earliest youth, and made a pub-
lic confession of Christ at a Baptist revival in 1850. After
his marriage, and a short service in the Civil War, and a
number of years spent in holding secular concerts, he be-
came acquainted with Mr. Moody. Several years after this
he was led to consecrate his entire life and services to God
for the purpose of spreading the gospel in song.

In the memoirs of Bliss, by Major D. W. Whittle, we
learn the story of how he was led to make the full conse-
cration of his services. During the winters of 1873-4 Mr.
Bliss received many letters from Mr. Moody, who was then
in Scotland, urging him to give up his business, drop every-
thing, and sing the gospel. Similar letters came to Major
Whittle, urging him to go out with Bliss and hold meet-
ings. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss were ready for this if they could
see it as the Lord's will. But there was much prayer and
hesitation on the part of Mr. Bliss before he reached a de-
cision in the matter. He doubted his ability, and doubted
whether the inclination he fell to go was from the Lord.
But Mr. Moody continued to write, and Mr. H. G. Spaf-
ford, a mutual friend, also joined in urging Major Whittle
and Mr. Bliss to go into the evangelistic work. Finally a
door opened for them. Rev. C. M. Saunders, of Waukegan,

OTHER FAMOUS CHRISTIANS 381

Illinois^ invited them to his church for three or four eve-
nings as an experiment. Major Cole accompanied them on
this trip. The first meeting was not an encouraging one in
point of attendance, and there were no marked results ex-
cept a powerful impression on the minds of the evangelists
that the Lord was with them. The next day it rained and
they looked for a small attendance, but the congregation
was twice as large as the first, and a niunber of souls were
led to Christ.

" Our hearts were very full," says Major Whittle, " and
a great responsibility was upon us. The next afternoon
we all three met in the study of the Congregational Church,
where our meetings were held, and spent some hours in
prayer. Bliss made a formal surrender of ever3rthing to
the Lord; gave up his musical conventions; gave up his
writing of secular music; gave up everything, and in a
simple, childlike, trusting prayer, placed himself, with any
talent, any power Gk>d had given him, at the disposal of
the Lord, for any use He could make of him in the spread-
ing of His gospel. Dear Cole united with us in this con-
secration. It was a wonderful afternoon. As I think back
upon the scene in that little study, and recall Bliss' prayer,
and the emotions that filled us all in the sense of God's
presence, the room seems lit up in my memory with a halo
of glory."

AiiM and SMna;

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